Artemis II Preflight

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, as the Artemis II launch teams load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants including liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as the launch countdown progresses at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II mission will take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft from Launch Complex 39B, with a two hour launch window opening at 6:24 p.m. EDT.