Artemis II launch live updates as NASA moon mission counts down to historic flight

The crew will spend their first 24 hours or so in orbit around the Earth doing checks of the spacecraft. Then, if everything is in good working order, an engine firing called the "trans-lunar injection," or TLI, will boost them on a path to the moon. 

From that point, it's roughly a four-day journey to the far side of the moon and another four days back to Earth.

From launch the evening of April 1 to splashdown on April 10, the mission is slated to last about nine and a half days.

The four astronauts who will crew the Artemis II mission boarded NASA's Orion spacecraft at around 2:30 p.m. Next, they're scheduled to start performing communication and suit leak checks as the closeout team helps fasten their helmets, gloves and seatbelts, said NASA.

Before entering Orion, each of the astronauts signed their names on the wall of the "White Room," which is an enclosed space connected to the entrance of the spacecraft. That's a pre-launch tradition first conceived during NASA's early Gemini program, according to the agency. 

When the four Artemis II astronauts launch into space for their mission to the far side of the moon, they'll be wearing spacesuits that are designed to protect them even in a "worst case" scenario, the Massachusetts company that makes them says.

The orange "Orion Crew Survival System" suits are worn during launch, high-risk parts of the mission near the moon and re-entry to Earth. Shane Jacobs, the chief technologist at the David Clark Company in Worcester, said the suits are custom-made for each astronaut.

"We've been developing this suit for many years, working hand-in-hand with our NASA partners," Jacobs told CBS News Boston.

Jacobs said the spacesuits will protect the astronauts in the unlikely event that the crew capsule loses cabin pressure on the way to the moon.

"If that happens, you can't just turn around and come back home," he said. "You've got to actually continue all the way to the moon, loop around the moon just like Apollo 13 did, and come back."

Read CBS Boston's full story here.

The Artemis II crew has arrived at launch pad 39B.

When the crew arrives at the launch pad, one insertion technician will get out with the crew and escort them up to the launch tower.

The group will take two sets of elevators. The first elevator will lift them from the surface of the launch pad to the mobile launch tower's "zero deck." The second elevator will lift them from "zero deck" to the 274-foot crew access level.

The crew will be carrying green bags containing their suit helmets, gloves, communication caps and personal items like reading glasses.

Upon exiting the last elevator, the crew will walk around the 274-foot platform and across the 60-foot-long crew access arm leading to their moonship. At the end of the arm is the "white room," a small, environmentally controlled space used for final preparations, such as donning helmets and gloves. The astronauts will begin a roughly 40-minute process of getting strapped into their seats.

Members of a closeout crew will assist them. This five-person team are also responsible for closing and performing leak checks on Orion's hatches, and they're the last people the astronauts see before launch.

The Artemis II crew is departing for the launch pad.

The crew will ride in the Airstream-built Astrovan II, a modified Airstream Atlas Touring Coach. Airstream has a history with NASA: the company supplied the Mobile Quarantine Facilities used for Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 14. The company also built the modified 1983 Excella motor home to transport space shuttle crews to the launch pad between 1983 and 2011.

NASA is leasing the Astrovan II from Boeing, which uses the vehicle for its Starliner program. NASA originally intended for the Artemis crews to ride in two custom-built, fully electric vans manufactured by Canoo Technologies. However, that company filed for bankruptcy.

The Astrovan II will accommodate a driver, four crew members, and two insertion technicians to assist with any suit issues. The Canoo vans will be available as backups.

A security escort will accompany the convoy on their 11-mile journey from the Operations & Checkout Building to Launch Pad 39B.

Pad rescue teams and closeout crews arrived at the launch complex, as fueling operations drew on into the mid-afternoon, according to NASA. 

The agency said both groups of specialists "play a vital role in protecting pad personnel and hardware throughout the countdown" to launch, and their presence on the launch pad signaled that preparations remained on-track. Rescue teams are trained to respond to any unlikely emergency and safely evacuate crews from the launch area, while closeout crews will thoroughly inspect the Orion spacecraft before it's cleared for liftoff.

"These teams are essential for mitigating risk and supporting the complex choreography of Artemis II's prelaunch activities," said NASA.

The crew began their quarantine period on March 18 to ensure they stayed healthy leading up to launch. That meant avoiding close contact with anyone not quarantining alongside them, keeping to just a small circle of colleagues and family members while continuing training activities and reviewing procedures for the upcoming mission.

NASA says the astronauts have also been following a controlled sleep schedule and nutrition plan to maintain energy and hydration for launch.

The Artemis II crew is now suiting up inside the space center's Operations & Checkout Building, just a few miles from the launch pad. 

They were given the green light to begin putting on their gear following Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson's promising afternoon weather update. Although officials say they're watching some rain showers offshore that appear to be moving toward the launch area, the showers are expected to dissipate as the launch window nears. 

Tanking has continued to progress smoothly, with fuel levels in three out of the rocket's four tanks at 100% of where they need to be for the flight.

The Artemis II astronauts received their final weather briefing just after 12:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Space Center, said NASA. The update provided Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen, as well as other teams involved in the mission, with information about current conditions at the launch pad, recovery zones in the surrounding area and possible "abort sites" on the rocket's route, according to the agency.

Weather officials placed the probability of favorable conditions at 80% for the time of the launch, which was unchanged from the number forecasters gave earlier in the morning. The main concerns are thunderstorm clouds, rain and wind, which could hamper the launch schedule.

"With the weather briefing complete, the crew and ground teams remain aligned and ready to continue toward liftoff, keeping Artemis II on track for its historic mission to send astronauts around the Moon," said NASA.

The Artemis II crew, in their Orion capsule, will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful operational booster in the world. 

Standing 322 feet tall and weighing 5.7 million pounds at liftoff, the SLS rocket launches with 8.8 million pounds of thrust, using two extended shuttle-era solid-fuel boosters and four leftover space shuttle main engines to propel the eight-minute climb to space.

This is only the second SLS launch, and the first one carrying astronauts to space. An SLS rocket successfully launched an uncrewed test flight to the moon in 2022 known as Artemis I.

Teams are now maintaining the liquid oxygen levels in the rocket's core stage to ensure it's prepared for flight throughout the rest of the launch countdown, NASA said. At the same time, they're also bringing the rocket's upper stage closer to being considered fully ready to propel the Artemis crew into an orbit high above the Earth.

The astronauts expressed confidence that the rocket and their Orion capsule will carry them safely around the moon and back, but they also understand the risks inherent in the mission. 

"It's a test flight, and we have to be willing to take that risk," mission specialist Jeremy Hansen said in an interview with CBS News. "And that's the one that I talk to my family about. I'm very optimistic. I truly believe the most likely outcome is we'll all be totally fine when we hit the Pacific Ocean nine and a half days later.

"But I want everyone to understand that you can lose a crew. And if we do, that shouldn't shock us. And the most important thing we do next is we stack the next rocket, and we'd let the next four volunteers get on top of it and go."

A thousand people have already convened in Space View Park, a riverside park in the city of Titusville, Florida, which is a popular sightseeing location for NASA launches. From 15 miles away, it offers visitors a clear view of the launch pad.

Teams are continuing to make progress as they fuel the rocket. NASA said crews successfully completed the topping phase for its liquid hydrogen tank, which the agency called "a critical step" that ensures the tank reaches full capacity, and have since moved on to "replenish mode." That's when small amounts of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are continuously added to tanks in order to counteract natural evaporation. 

There are about 500 launch commit criteria, a strict set of rules and conditions that must be met for Artemis II to launch. A violation of any one of the launch commit criteria could halt the countdown or scrub the launch.

In some cases, the launch director, in consultation with the Mission Management Team, could choose to waive certain criteria if they have flight rationale, or justification and evidence demonstrating that it would be safe to proceed.

Some 12,000 different measurements are being monitored in real-time.

Spectators have been camping out near the Kennedy Space Center in hopes of catching a glimpse of the launch later today. 

"This, to me, is history," one of them told CBS News. "Watching this, if these astronauts go up and do what they're going to do, it's going to be just awesome."

Another said he remembered watching coverage of the Apollo flight as a child, on a black-and-white TV, and was determined to see this one in person. 

The Artemis crew is "in great spirits" ahead of their scheduled launch, retired NASA astronaut and ISS commander Leroy Chiao told CBS News on Wednesday morning, shortly after the crew members woke up.

"The crew is very relaxed," Chiao said. "They've been training for a long time. They've been looking forward to this day for a long time."

Watch the full interview here.

NASA says the four Artemis II astronauts have officially begun their launch day with a scheduled wake-up call at 9:25 a.m. EDT, marking the start of their final preparations for launch.

They'll have a meal, attend a weather briefing, and then head to the suit-up room at around 12:50 p.m. to put on their orange Orion Crew Survival System suits.

They're scheduled to depart for the launch pad about 4 hours, 40 minutes before launch. But their departure time could be a moving target depending on whether the launch team encountered any delays with propellant loading.

When it's time to go, the crew will ride the 11 miles to Pad 39B in an Airstream vehicle called the Astrovan II. The trip takes about 20 minutes.

The crew will be carrying green bags containing their suit helmets, gloves, communication caps, and any last-minute personal items such as reading glasses. 

They'll take two elevators to the 274-foot crew access level. At the end of the 60-foot-long crew access arm is the "white room," a small, environmentally controlled space used for final preparations, such as donning helmets and gloves. 

Then the astronauts will begin a roughly 40-minute process of getting strapped into their seats. 

Assisting them will be a five-person team known as the closeout crew, which is responsible for closing and performing leak checks on Orion's hatches and are the last people the astronauts see before launch.

The United States Coast Guard will close certain waterways around the Artemis launch site on Wednesday, the agency said, blocking or limiting mariners' access to areas around Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

In the hours leading up to launch, Coast Guard crews establish a "security zone," "safety zone" and "regulated navigation area," which cannot be transited without formal approval.

People are also advised to steer clear of waters outside of those designated areas for a window of time around the rocket's planned liftoff because "hazardous conditions may be present in event of a space vehicle malfunction," the Coast Guard said. Hazards could include falling debris or vehicle components that could damage vessels below.

A map illustrating the Coast Guard's restrictions is posted here.

Fueling the rocket is progressing as planned. NASA says the launch team transitioned to the fast fill of liquid hydrogen into the rocket's core stage, a step that brings the massive tanks closer to full capacity, after the slow fill of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. 

So far, forecasters are predicting an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions at launch time, with some risk of clouds, wind and showers. Tonight's 2-hour window shows light winds, mostly clear skies and temperatures in the mid 70s.

There are very specific weather criteria that must be met for the launch to proceed:

• Temperatures must be above 41.4 degrees Fahrenheit and cannot rise above 94.5 degrees for longer than 30 minutes.
• Winds cannot exceed 33 mph at 132.5 feet and cannot exceed 45 mph at 457.5 feet.
• There cannot be liftoff for at least 30 minutes after lightning strikes within a 10 mile radius.
• Thunderstorm clouds (cumulonimbus) must be more than 3 miles away, clouds over 4,500 feet thick must be more than 5 miles away, cumulus clouds must be more than 10 miles away, and there cannot be any smoke plumes nearby.
• There cannot be any precipitation falling.

In the first major decision point of the day, NASA says the launch team has polled "go" to begin tanking the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. At 8:29 a.m. EDT, they will begin filling the vehicle with about 756,000 gallons of cryogenic liquid propellant.

The core stage will be filled with:

• 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen (LH2) chilled down to -423° Fahrenheit
• 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (LOX) chilled down to -297° Fahrenheit

The upper stage, or Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), will be filled with:

• 17,000 gallons of chilled liquid hydrogen (LH2)
• 5,000 gallons of chilled liquid oxygen (LOX)

Artemis II is "a test flight," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted in an interview with CBS News the day before launch. "This is the opening act in a series of missions that will send astronauts to and from the moon with great frequency as we return to stay." 

NASA intends to follow it up with additional flights next year, at least one lunar landing in 2028 and longer-term construction of a moon base.

"This first mission, this is extremely challenging," Isaacman said. 

"These astronauts are going to go farther from Earth than any humans have ever been before, potentially faster than any humans have ever been before."

Watch the full interview here.

The four crew members chosen for the Artemis II mission stand out even in a NASA astronaut corps full of super achievers. They've spent the past three years training for the days ahead.

Mission commander Reid Wiseman, 50, holds a degree in computer and systems engineering and a master's in systems engineering. He became a naval aviator in 1999 and joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2009. Wiseman first flew in space in 2014, logging 165 days in orbit aboard the International Space Station and completing two spacewalks.

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, 49, is a U.S. Navy captain with an engineering degree and three master's degrees in military aviation, systems engineering and management. He has flown more than 400 carrier flights and 24 combat missions, and piloted a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station in 2020-21, logging 168 days in orbit and completing four spacewalks.

Mission specialist Christina Koch, 47, worked as an electrical engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, conducted research in Antarctica and helped develop scientific instruments for space probes. An astronaut since 2013, she logged 328 days in space aboard the International Space Station in 2019-20 — the longest single spaceflight by a woman — and has conducted six spacewalks.

Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, 50, is the only spaceflight rookie on the team. He is from Canada and will be the first Canadian astronaut ever to travel beyond near-Earth orbit. He learned to fly as a teen, earned a degree in space science at Royal Military College, and became a fighter pilot before joining the Canadian Space Agency in 2009.

Read more here.

Artemis II is a flight to the moon — but the astronauts will not land on the moon or go into orbit around it. Instead, they will loop behind it and get an unprecedented view of the far side of the moon. 

In the process, they're expected to set a record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth: 252,000 miles. 

The crew will spend their first 24 hours after launch in an elliptical orbit around the Earth. Then, if all goes according to plan, a crucial engine firing called the "trans-lunar injection," or TLI, will boost the ship's velocity by about 900 mph, just enough to push it out of Earth orbit to begin the four-day coast to the moon. 

The spacecraft will be on a "free return" trajectory, using lunar gravity to bend the ship's path back toward Earth, where it will return for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.

Artemis II originally planned to take off in early February, but the flight was delayed repeatedly.

The first setback came in the form of hydrogen fuel leaks during a dress-rehearsal countdown. Then problems arose with the upper stage propellant pressurization system. 

NASA says both issues have been resolved, finally clearing the way for launch. 

More than 48 hours before liftoff, the official countdown clocks began ticking at 4:44 p.m. EDT Monday afternoon.

CBS News 24/7 will have live streaming coverage starting at 4 p.m. EDT for the countdown to the launch. Watch live in the video player on this page or download the free CBS News app.

• What: NASA launches the Artemis II mission to fly astronauts around the moon.
• Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
• Time: Launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT.
• Location: Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
• On TV: A CBS News Special Report anchored by Tony Dokoupil airs on CBS television stations starting at 6 p.m. EDT. Find your local station here.
• Online stream: Watch live on CBS News in the video player above and on your mobile or streaming device. 

Coverage plans subject to change.