NASA employees brief the media on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. about the delayed Artemis II mission. The news conference focused on revisions and fixes being done to the rocket components. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images
ORLANDO — After a critical pre-flight review, NASA is targeting a launch of Artemis II as early as April 1 to send four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the moon and back.
The decision Thursday came after an in-depth flight readiness review, where managers met to discuss the mission. "All the teams polled 'go' to launch and fly Artemis II around the moon," said Lori Glaze, of NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
The crew — NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — were at the flight readiness review.
NASA had planned to launch the mission earlier this month, but following a successful fueling test in February, engineers discovered an issue with the rocket's helium system, which regulates the pressures in the vehicle's fuel tanks. Mission managers decided to roll the rocket back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center for repairs.
Technicians were able to repair the helium issue by replacing a seal. With the issue now fixed, ground teams plan to move the rocket back to its launch pad on Thursday. "Keep in mind we still have work to go. There are still things that need to be done within the VAB and out at the pad," said Glaze. "And as always, we'll always be guided by what the hardware is telling us and we will launch when we are ready."
Planning for an April 1 launch, the crew will enter quarantine at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 18, and make the trip to Florida on March 27.
Artemis II has six days at the start of the month to launch: April 1-6. Once the mission does launch, it will mark the first human mission to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.