NASA Targets March 6 for Artemis 2 Moon Launch

NASA has announced March 6 as the earliest possible launch date for its Artemis 2 mission, marking the first crewed flyby of the Moon in more than 50 years.

The mission is part of NASA’s Artemis program and will send four astronauts around the Moon before returning them safely to Earth. This will be the first time humans travel beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo era in 1972.

According to NASA, several important steps must be completed before confirming the March 6 launch. Lori Glaze, a senior official at the agency, said that pad work, a flight readiness review, and analysis of the dress rehearsal must be successfully finished.

“We need to successfully navigate all of those but assuming that happens, it puts us in a very good position to target March 6,” Glaze said.

Recently, NASA carried out a wet dress rehearsal of its powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at Cape Canaveral. The rehearsal simulates real launch conditions, including filling the rocket’s tanks with fuel and performing full system checks.

An earlier rehearsal in February was cut short due to technical problems, including a liquid hydrogen leak. That issue delayed plans for a February launch. However, during the latest test, NASA confirmed that the countdown proceeded as planned, stopping at T-29 seconds.

The Artemis 2 crew includes three American astronauts and one Canadian astronaut. The mission will test the spacecraft’s systems in deep space and pave the way for future lunar landings under the Artemis program.

If successful, Artemis 2 will be a major step forward in returning humans to the Moon and preparing for future missions to Mars.