Artemis II astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center ahead of April 1 moon launch

On Friday, March 27, 2026, the four-member Artemis II crew flew into the Kennedy Space Center to begin final preparations for a scheduled April 1 launch that would send them on a nearly 700,000-mile voyage around the moon and back, NASA said.

The team — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — touched down on the spaceport runway around 2:10 p.m. Eastern Time after flying from Johnson Space Center in T-38 jets, officials and photos showed.

Wiseman greeted reporters on the runway, pumping his fists and saying, "Hey, let's go to the moon!" He added the crew is excited but realistic about risks, telling CBS News the team is prepared for another delay if technical issues re-emerge.

Countdown clocks are expected to start at 4:44 p.m. EDT Monday, setting up a launch attempt at 6:24 p.m. Wednesday within a two-hour window, NASA said. The crew has until April 6 to launch before orbital geometry forces about a four-week slip.

Artemis II was pushed from an early February target after hydrogen leaks during fueling and later problems pressurizing the rocket's upper-stage propulsion system. Engineers hauled the 322-foot SLS back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, traced the fault to an out-of-place seal, recharged batteries and returned the rocket to the pad, NASA officials said.

Before heading toward the moon, the crew will spend 24 hours in Earth orbit testing Orion's life-support systems, a step Wiseman called essential to confirm air, water and waste systems work for humans on board.

The mission will be the first crewed departure from Earth orbit since Apollo and the second SLS flight overall. NASA says tests indicate the rocket and Orion are ready, the crew is making final checkouts at Kennedy, and the countdown is set to begin Monday — but officials caution another delay remains possible.