NASA to update Artemis 2 rocket launch date. Time, how to watch
An update is coming today on NASA's Artemis 2 lunar mission to launch four astronauts on a historic journey around the moon.
NASA has been working for weeks to get its towering lunar rocket off the ground in Florida on the second mission under the U.S. space agency's multibillion-dollar program to return humans to the surface of the moon . That mission doesn't include plans for a landing quite yet, but will instead propel three Americans and one Canadian on a voyage that would take them to see parts of the far side of the moon that not even Apollo astronauts witnessed .
Now, amid ongoing repairs to NASA's Space Launch System rocket designed specifically for the Artemis lunar program, agency officials are preparing to update the public on just where things stand following a series of delays .
Here's how to watch the upcoming news conference, as well as the latest on the Artemis moon missions.
When is the Artemis 2 rocket launch date? NASA to provide update
NASA officials will provide an update on the Artemis 2 moon mission, now projected to launch as early as April 1 , during a March 12 news conference. The briefing, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, will take place following the conclusion of a flight readiness review in which officials assess a variety of factors, including the status of the lunar rocket, before setting a target launch date.
Hitching a ride atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket, the Artemis 2 astronauts are due to pilot an Orion capsule on a 10-day trip around the moon. While no moon landing is in store for the mission, the Artemis 2 crew will test systems and hardware for future expeditions to the surface while traveling about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon – the farthest humans have ever ventured in space .
While NASA tested its spacecraft during the Artemis 1 mission in 2022, Artemis 2 will be the first time that the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule will fly with humans aboard.
How to watch NASA coverage of Artemis 2 update
NASA's news conference, taking place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will be available to stream on the agency's YouTube channel , with the link embedded below.
SLS moon rocket repaired at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
NASA's impending update comes as work has continued on the troubled 322-foot rocket Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which at the end of February was rolled from its launch pad for repairs .
For the last two weeks, the SLS – built by Boeing and Northrop Grumman – has been in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building , where spacecraft are prepared for launch, as engineers work to fix an issue in which helium was not properly flowing to the rocket's upper stage.
While engineers repaired a seal suspected of being the culprit, "technicians also have been working to refresh other systems on the rocket" and Orion capsule, NASA said in its most recent Artemis blog post .
Work on the SLS rocket and Orion vehicle is expected to continue in the weeks leading up to the integrated spacecraft being rolled back out to the launch pad for a second time in Florida, NASA said.
Who are the astronauts on the Artemis 2 mission?
The crew of Artemis 2 includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman , Victor Glover and Christina Koch , as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen .
Koch and Glover represent the first woman and first African American , respectively, assigned to a NASA lunar mission. Additionally, Hansen is set to become the first Canadian to fly close to the moon.
NASA overhauls lunar missions as Artemis 4 becomes moon landing
NASA's Artemis lunar program – the agency's ambitious campaign to return Americans to the moon for the first time in five decades – most recently made headlines when leaders announced a major overhaul to the missions .
Most prominently, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed plans to add another mission between Artemis 2 and a moon landing. That mission, now known as Artemis 3, would entail astronauts aboard the Orion capsule meeting and docking in 2027 in Earth orbit with at least one of the commercial lunar landers being developed by Elon Musk 's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin .
NASA then plans for a moon landing mission in 2028 as part of Artemis 4, which would reportedly also be the first in which the SLS rocket would make use of the United Launch Alliance’s Centaur 5 as the upper stage. Moon landings are then expected to occur once a year as astronauts work to establish a permanent lunar base ahead of crewed missions to Mars.
NASA watchdog issues warning on moon landing missions
But a new report from a NASA watchdog found that the agency is not only facing delays in getting a lander ready in time, but that potential risks to the crew are still unresolved.
The findings, published Tuesday, March 10, by NASA’s Office of the Inspector General, noted significant schedule delays in the development for both SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System (HLS) and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander. What's more, while the report noted that NASA is "proactively taking measures to mitigate and prevent hazards," investigators raised concerns about how safe the vehicles could be.
"If the landers encounter a catastrophic event, NASA knows it would not have the capability to rescue stranded astronauts from space or the lunar surface," the report noted, adding that the agency has work to do in its "crew survival analyses."
The report, which outlines several steps NASA can take, did not account for NASA's recent shakeup to the Artemis program.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As NASA officials prep for Artemis 2 update, latest on moon missions
