NASA Unveils Artemis II Launch Windows: What We Know

Space agency is making final preparations for what will be the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit in more than half a century.

Jack Daleo

Monday, January 12, 2026 at 03:30 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

Crews transport NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft from the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to the Launch Abort System Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 10, 2025. [Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett]

Key Takeaways:

NASA has announced the first launch windows for Artemis II, the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit in over 50 years, with the earliest opportunity being February 6.
The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon to test the SLS rocket and Orion capsule with a crew, validating systems and practicing maneuvers for the subsequent Artemis III lunar landing.
Final prelaunch preparations are underway, including rolling out the spacecraft and conducting critical wet dress rehearsals, with a February launch still considered feasible if all activities proceed smoothly.

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NASA for the first time has announced launch windows for the first crewed spaceflight beyond Earth orbit in more than half a century.

The space agency on Friday said it is making final preparations for the Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts around the moon and back as a precursor to Artemis III—humanity’s first mission to the treacherous lunar south pole, planned for as early as mid-2027.