NASA Artemis 2 launch date confirmed as countdown begins for historic moon mission

The countdown has started for NASA’s Artemis 2 moon mission, with the space agency targeting April 1 for the first crewed lunar flight since 1972

NASA has declared that the countdown to the launch of the Artemis 2 moon mission is underway.

Just after 10pm (GMT), the Artemis 2 launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, announced: “I am thrilled to say that our countdown clock picked up just a little bit ago and began counting”.

The US space agency has set its sights on a launch window commencing on April 1 and extending until April 6. At a press conference, Ms Blackwell-Thompson further stated: “Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment and I am so very proud of the work that they have done.”

NASA is aiming for the April 1 date, as confirmed on Monday, with the countdown to lift-off now in progress. Associate administrator Amit Kshatriya noted: “The team concluded that everything continues to look good and that there are no issues preventing us from pressing ahead at this point.”

Despite numerous obstacles, it appears that Artemis 2 is now targeting a launch in just two days’ time on Wednesday, April 1.

Mr Kshatriya expressed his gratitude to NASA employees, stating: “You are all instrumental. The skills that you carry, the judgement you built, the knowledge you hold, these are all the things that are in the lifeblood of the agency.

“This mission is going to fly on Wednesday because you are here.”

The launch will represent the first occasion since 1972 that astronauts have travelled to the moon. NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, will shortly begin their 10-day mission to orbit the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Initially scheduled for February, the mission has been delayed to a six-day launch window in April following issues identified during testing.

“The launch day and time must allow SLS to be able to deliver Orion” to that orbit, NASA officials wrote in an Artemis 2 explainer last month. “Orion also must be in the proper alignment with the Earth and moon at the time of the trans-lunar injection burn,” they added.

The space agency emphasised that timing is critical for the mission’s success. “The trajectory for a given day must ensure Orion is not in darkness for more than 90 minutes at a time so that the solar array wings can receive and convert sunlight to electricity, and the spacecraft can maintain an optimal temperature range… Mission planners eliminate potential launch dates that would send Orion into extended eclipses during the flight.”

Potential launch windows must also factor in Orion’s return journey to Earth, which requires a specific entry profile.