CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — NASA has locked in March 6 as the earliest launch window for Artemis 2, the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, following a successful dress rehearsal of its massive SLS rocket. The announcement caps weeks of technical hurdles but signals confidence in hitting the target if final checks clear.
Agency official Dr. Lori Glaze stressed that pad operations, a flight readiness review, and analysis of the February 19 countdown, halted at T-29 seconds, must all go smoothly. “We need to successfully navigate all of those but assuming that happens, it puts us in a very good position to target March 6,” she said.
The wet dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center mimicked launch day with full fuel tanks and full countdown procedures, overcoming a mid-February snag from a liquid hydrogen leak that scrapped an earlier February attempt. Three U.S. astronauts and one Canadian will pilot the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day free-return trajectory around the Moon’s far side—humanity’s first peek there up close since Apollo.
Early February woes, including weather delays, pushed back rollout hopes for a February liftoff from Launch Pad 39B. Artemis 2 paves NASA’s path to sustainable lunar presence and Mars, validating systems for future landings. No major issues surfaced in Thursday’s test, boosting optimism despite the tight timeline. Space watchers eye the crew’s prep as the agency races toward this lunar milestone.