Jeremy Hansen – Spaceflight Now

Launch preview: NASA to launch Artemis 2, its first Moon-bound mission with astronauts since 1972

April 1, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The four astronauts will spend more than nine days onboard their Orion spacecraft and is poised to pass the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39B is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC).

Artemis 2 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of April 1 launch attempt

March 27, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The crew is expected to land in Florida around 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 UTC) on Friday. April 1 at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC) is the earliest launch opportunity during a six-day window.

Astronauts, launch teams practice Artemis 2 countdown

December 21, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The run-through simulated day-of-launch activities, included suit up, ingress into the Orion spacecraft and a countdown that stopped just shy of T-0.

NASA names crew for first human mission to the moon in more than 50 years

April 3, 2023 Stephen Clark

NASA announced Monday that former U.S. Navy fighter pilots Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, veteran space station astronaut Christina Koch, and rookie Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will crew the Artemis 2 mission to fly around the far side of the moon as soon as late next year, a test flight that could carry the foursome farther from Earth than any humans in history.

Canadian astronaut to join NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission around the moon

December 21, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Canadian space flier will join three NASA crew members on the first piloted flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft around the moon, becoming the first non-U.S. astronaut on a lunar voyage, officials announced last week.

Canada backs ISS extension to 2024, gains two crew slots

June 3, 2015 Stephen Clark

The Canadian government announced Tuesday its intention to support the International Space Station through 2024, joining the United States and Russia as the major partners officially backing an extension of the global research project.