NASA Prepares for Historic Artemis II Lunar Flyby, Releasing Detailed Coverage Schedule

NASA is set to broadcast extensive coverage of its Artemis II mission, marking the agency’s first crewed journey around the Moon under the Artemis program. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than Wednesday, April 1, with a launch window opening at 6:24 p.m. EDT, and continuing with additional opportunities through Monday, April 6. The Artemis II mission will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day flight. A primary objective of this mission is to test the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems with a human crew for the first time, paving the way for future lunar exploration and eventual crewed missions to Mars.

The agency has announced a comprehensive schedule of prelaunch, launch, and mission events that will be available for public viewing online. Viewers can tune into NASA’s YouTube channel for live streams of these events, with specific streams designated for individual occurrences. Additionally, ongoing mission coverage and briefings will be provided throughout the flight. The public will have the opportunity to follow the mission in real-time through various online platforms, including social media. The full schedule of coverage activities for Artemis II can be found on NASA’s website.

Key prelaunch events include media interactions with the Artemis II crew upon their arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 27, at 2:30 p.m. EDT. On Sunday, March 29, at 9:30 a.m. EDT, the crew will participate in a virtual question-and-answer session from their quarantine facility, followed by a NASA news conference at 2 p.m. EDT to provide a launch status update. Further updates on launch preparations will be delivered in a news conference on Monday, March 30, at 5 p.m. EDT, following a mission management meeting. A final prelaunch news conference is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, at 1 p.m. EDT.

Launch day coverage on Wednesday, April 1, will commence at 7:45 a.m. EDT with the livestream of propellant loading operations for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA+ coverage of the launch will begin at 12:50 p.m. EDT and will continue on YouTube after the Orion spacecraft deploys its solar array wings. Approximately two and a half hours after liftoff, a postlaunch news conference will be held to discuss the SLS rocket’s upper stage burn that will propel Orion and its crew into high Earth orbit.

Throughout the mission, NASA will provide real-time updates and coverage via its YouTube channel. A separate live stream will offer views from the Orion spacecraft as transmission capabilities allow. Daily mission status briefings will be conducted from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, beginning on Thursday, April 2, with a pause on April 6 due to lunar flyby activities. The crew will also engage in live conversations during the mission, with exact times for these downlink events to be announced on the Artemis blog and the agency’s launch events page.

Media representatives interested in participating virtually in briefings are required to RSVP no later than two hours prior to each briefing to the NASA Johnson newsroom. Updates concerning the launch countdown and the mission’s progress will be posted regularly on the Artemis blog. The latest mission imagery will be available through the Artemis II Multimedia portal, and the Orion spacecraft’s position in space can be tracked via nasa.gov/trackartemis.

Members of the public can register to attend the launch virtually through NASA’s virtual guest program, which offers curated launch resources, notifications of related opportunities, and a virtual passport stamp upon mission completion. Audio-only coverage of the tanking operations and launch broadcast will be accessible by phone, with specific dial-in numbers and passcodes provided. For those in Brevard County, Florida, launch audio will also be available on local radio frequencies. Media accreditation for in-person coverage of launch and mission events has concluded. Inquiries regarding media accreditation at NASA Kennedy or NASA Johnson can be directed to the respective email addresses. Information on obtaining NASA+ program feeds can be obtained by contacting the NASA+ programming team via email.

The Artemis program represents a new era of space exploration, with NASA aiming to send astronauts on increasingly challenging missions to the Moon for scientific discovery and economic benefits, while also building a foundation for future crewed missions to Mars. Further details about NASA’s Artemis program can be found on the NASA website.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from NASA News

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