The countdown is under way at Kennedy Space Center for the liftoff of Artemis II, which will send four astronauts around the moon and back in the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.
After a mission management team meeting on Monday, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said Artemis II is ready for launch on Wednesday.
When will Artemis II launch?
At 6:24pm (22:24 GMT) on Wednesday, a two-hour window will open for the Artemis II mission to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch window will remain open until April 6 for two hours each day after sunset. The mission can launch only when the moon, orbital paths, weather and Earth’s rotation line up safely.
Artemis II has faced two major delays that pushed it from its original early 2026 launch window.
In early February, the first attempt was scrubbed after a liquid hydrogen leak was detected during a practice countdown.
A second launch attempt in early March was cancelled when engineers discovered a helium flow issue in the rocket’s upper stage.
What is NASA’s Artemis programme?
The Artemis programme is NASA’s multidecade mission to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972, establish a long-term base there and eventually enable future human missions to Mars.–Al Jazeera
