Last mentioned: Mar 13, 2026
Artemis III Target
Planned mission to land the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface.
Artemis III Target
Earliest projected window for the first crewed lunar landing mission.
Artemis II Launch
First crewed flight of the Artemis program targeting lunar flyby.
March Rescheduling
Launch officially moved to March 6, 2026, to allow for final system integration.
Current Delay
New repairs identified for the SLS rocket core stage, delaying the mission indefinitely.
Second Delay
Mission timeline moves to April 2026 due to Orion heat shield and life support issues.
Initial Delay
NASA pushes Artemis II from late 2024 to September 2025 due to technical concerns.
First Major Delay
NASA pushes Artemis II from late 2024 to September 2025 citing safety concerns.
Artemis I Success
Uncrewed Orion spacecraft completes 25-day mission around the Moon.
Artemis I Success
Uncrewed SLS and Orion mission successfully orbits the Moon and returns to Earth.
Artemis I Success
Uncrewed test flight of SLS and Orion completed 25-day mission.
NASA has officially confirmed an April 1, 2026, launch target for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the lunar vicinity since the Apollo era. This 10-day mission will carry four astronauts on a high-stakes flyby to test life-support systems and deep-space navigation capabilities.
NASA has officially postponed the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby mission, the first human-crewed flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), due to newly identified repair requirements on the rocket. This latest setback pushes the mission's timeline further into the late 2020s, complicating the broader goal of returning humans to the lunar surface.
NASA has officially rescheduled the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, to March 6, 2026. This mission will carry four astronauts on a high-stakes lunar flyby, marking the first human journey to the Moon's vicinity in over half a century.