The excitement is building with NASA now just a few days away from sending four astronauts on a voyage around the moon.
On Wednesday, the space agency shared its schedule for coverage of the final buildup and main event, including a Q&A with the astronauts this Friday, blast off on Wednesday, April 1, and regular updates as the crew make their way to the moon.
Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, together with Canadian Jeremy Hansen, will leave the launchpad aboard an Orion spacecraft carried skyward by NASA’s massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
They’ll spend several days in Earth orbit checking the spacecraft’s systems before heading toward the moon. They won’t land on the lunar surface, but instead fly around it on a journey that will take humans farther from Earth than at any time since the Apollo era more than five decades ago.
Below is a summary of the events linked to the upcoming Artemis II mission. All times are Eastern Time (ET):
Friday, March 27
2:30 p.m.: The Artemis II crew will arrive at the Kennedy Space Center for a Q&A session with the press. NASA chief Jared Isaacman will also be in attendance, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) president Lisa Campbell.
Sunday, March 29
9:30 a.m.: The Artemis II crew will spend some time answering additional media questions, but this time virtually, from their quarantine facility.
2 p.m.: NASA officials linked to the mission will hold a status update on preparations for the Artemis II launch.
Monday, March 30
5 p.m.: Following a key mission meeting, NASA will host a news conference to provide a status update on preparations for launch.
Tuesday, March 31
1 p.m.: The space agency will hold a prelaunch news conference on the countdown status.
Wednesday, April 1
7:45 a.m.: Coverage begins on NASA+ of the tanking operations to load propellant into the SLS rocket. The livestream will include various views of the rocket and commentator analysis.
12:50 p.m.: NASA+ begins the official livestream for the much-anticipated launch, which is targeted for no earlier than 6:24 p.m. Following liftoff, coverage will continue on YouTube after Orion’s solar array wings deploy in space.
Around two-and-a-half hours after launch, and after the SLS rocket’s upper stage has performed a burn to send Orion and its crew to high-Earth orbit, NASA will hold a news conference to offer an update on the mission. The start time could change, depending on the precise liftoff time. In fact, the entire schedule could change, according to how the final preparations proceed. NASA will post any developments on its X account.
For information on the timing of daily updates during the mission, including live link-ups with the crew, check out NASA’s full schedule.