NASA Targets March 6 for Artemis II Moon Mission

Agency official Lori Glaze says the space agency is in ‘very good position’ to launch early next month.

Jack Daleo

Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft stand vertical at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 10. [Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky]

Key Takeaways:

NASA is now targeting March 6 for the Artemis II mission, a four-person journey around the Moon.
This mission aims to validate the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule with human occupants in a deep space environment, in preparation for the Artemis III lunar landing.
A recent "wet dress rehearsal" (WDR) went smoothly, addressing prior technical issues, but final reviews and pad work are still required before the target date is confirmed.

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After moving off an early February launch window for Artemis II—a four-person sojourn around the moon and back—NASA on Friday said it hopes to launch the mission on March 6.

Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said that a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) for Artemis II “went very, very smoothly”—smooth enough that it could launch within two weeks.