Artemis II mission: The road to the Moon runs through Texas

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Published  March 30, 2026 10:02am CDT
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(L-R) Canadian Space Agency astronaut Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Gl …

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The Brief

    • NASA is targeting Wednesday, April 1, 2026, for the Artemis II mission, a 10-day flight carrying four astronauts around the moon and back.
    • Houston’s Johnson Space Center will serve as the mission's nerve center, overseeing the flight as the crew achieves milestones for women and people of color in deep space.
    • After a lunar flyby on Day 6, the Orion capsule is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, following a high-speed atmospheric reentry.

HOUSTON - As NASA prepares for the historic Artemis II mission, Texas is reinforcing its role as the primary hub for America’s return to the moon. With a launch targeted for Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the mission represents a critical step-by-step test of the systems that will eventually land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface.

NASA Artemis II Rocket Launch

The 10-day flight will carry four astronauts on a trajectory around the moon and back to Earth. The crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—all live and train in the Houston area and represent several milestones in space exploration.

Koch is set to become the first woman to fly on a lunar mission, while Glover will be the first person of color and Hansen the first Canadian to travel to deep space.

The path to the pad was not without challenges. In late February, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to repair a helium flow issue in the upper stage. NASA officials confirmed in mid-March that the repairs were successful, and the rocket returned to Launch Pad 39B on March 20, 2026.

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - MARCH 20: NASA Artemis II is rolled from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy Space Center on March 20, 2026 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA integrated SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission are being rolled to Launch Pad 39B ahead of the 10-day mission scheduled for April 2026, which will take the crew around the Moon and back to Earth. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images)
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - MARCH 20: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by NASA, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, is seen as it rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B, Friday, March 20, 2026, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth with launch opportunities beginning in April 2026. (Photo by Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty Images)
(L-R) NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover look on during a welcome ceremony ahead of the Artemis II April 1 launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026. NASA and Canadian Space Agency astronauts assigned to the Artemis II mission arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026, to begin final pre-launch preparations for the first crewed lunar flyby in the Artemis program. The journey, set to last around 10 days, will take the astronauts on a loop around the Moon, though they will not land on its surface. The crew comprises the first woman, the first person of color and the first non-American to take part in such a journey. (Photo by Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images)
(L-R) Canadian Space Agency astronaut Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover look on during a welcome ceremony ahead of the Artemis II April 1 launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026. NASA and Canadian Space Agency astronauts assigned to the Artemis II mission arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 27, 2026, to begin final pre-launch preparations for the first crewed lunar flyby in the Artemis program. The journey, set to last around 10 days, will take the astronauts on a loop around the Moon, though they will not land on its surface. The crew comprises the first woman, the first person of color and the first non-American to take part in such a journey. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez CARRILLO / AFP via Getty Images)
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - MARCH 20: The Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft rolls out on a 4-mile trip to pad 39B from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where it had undergone repairs, at the Kennedy Space Center on March 20, 2026 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket, which will launch with a crew of four on a journey around the moon as early as April, was found to have a helium flow issue to the rocketâs upper stage and was rolled back from the pad to the VAB on February 25. (Photo by Paul Hennesy/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Texas connection

Local perspective:

At the center of the operation is NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). Known as the "heart" of human spaceflight, JSC serves as the nerve center for the mission’s planning and real-time flight control. It is here that flight directors and controllers will guide the Orion spacecraft from launch to splashdown.

The astronauts have spent thousands of hours within JSC’s specialized facilities, including high-fidelity Orion simulators and the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, to prepare for every phase of the mission.

While the launch takes place in Florida, the technical foundation of the mission is rooted in Texas, driven by a network of contractors and researchers:

  • North Texas Systems: Major aerospace contractors in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex provided critical components for the Orion spacecraft's propulsion and avionics systems.
  • Private Partnerships: Houston-based aerospace firms are currently under contract to develop the Human Landing System (HLS) and advanced spacesuits for future phases of the Artemis program.
  • University Research: The University of Texas System and Rice University hold active Space Act Agreements with NASA to study radiation shielding and long-duration human health in deep space.

Economic impact

The Artemis program serves as a significant economic engine for the state. According to the Texas Comptroller, NASA’s operations and its associated partners support more than 52,000 jobs and contribute approximately $4.7 billion annually to the Texas gross domestic product.

The 2025/2026 NASA Economic Impact Report specifically notes that the "Moon to Mars" campaign alone supports 14,133 direct jobs in Texas and generates $3.5 billion in annual economic output within the state.

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Mission Schedule & Timeline

The 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral currently reports an 80% chance of favorable weather for the Wednesday evening window.

  • Launch: April 1, 2026, at 5:24 p.m. CDT from Kennedy Space Center.
  • Flight Day 1: Liftoff and initial Earth orbits to verify life-support and navigation systems.
  • Flight Day 2: The crew performs a "translunar injection" burn to head toward the moon.
  • Flight Days 3–5: Outbound transit covering approximately 250,000 miles.
  • Flight Day 6 (Lunar Flyby): Orion swings around the far side of the moon, coming within 6,000 miles of the surface. Communication with Mission Control in Houston will be temporarily lost for 30 to 50 minutes.
  • Flight Days 7–9: Return journey via a "free-return trajectory" pulled by Earth's gravity.
  • Flight Day 10 (Splashdown): Targeted for Friday, April 10, 2026, at approximately 7:06 p.m. CDT in the Pacific Ocean.

Key Events to Watch:

NASA will begin live coverage on NASA+ several hours before launch. Fueling of the SLS rocket is expected to begin early Wednesday morning, with the crew departing for the launch pad approximately four hours before liftoff.

The Source: Information in this article was gathered from official NASA mission kits, the Johnson Space Center, and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

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