Why NASA’s Artemis II Moon Shot Will Slip to March

Space agency contended with a familiar issue during a wet dress rehearsal.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, February 03, 2026 at 02:30 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

NASA’s integrated Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule stand at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the Artemis II mission. [Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Artemis II mission, aiming to send astronauts on a trip around the moon, has been delayed from an early February target to at least March or April due to complications during a recent wet dress rehearsal.
The preflight test uncovered several challenges, including a significant liquid hydrogen leak, longer-than-anticipated crew closeout procedures, and ground communication dropouts, necessitating at least one more rehearsal.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission in the program, designed to validate vehicle systems in deep space ahead of the Artemis III lunar landing, and its delay impacts the overall timeline, pushing Artemis III to 2028.
Despite unexpected charring on its previous flight, NASA decided to reuse the Artemis I heat shield for Artemis II to avoid further delays to the subsequent lunar landing mission, opting to modify the reentry profile instead.

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Though NASA was optimistic about launching four astronauts on a trip around the moon as early as Friday, the space agency is now looking at March after complications during a key preflight test.

As it prepares for the Artemis II mission, NASA on Saturday evening began a wet dress rehearsal (WDR). The prelaunch exercise is designed to practice fueling the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket—the vehicle that will launch NASA’s Orion crew capsule on a 10-day mission to the moon and back—and identify any issues that might occur during the countdown to liftoff.