Astronauts enter quarantine as NASA rolls Artemis II moon rocket to the launchpad
NASA is targeting April 1 to launch the Artemis II flight with four astronauts around the moon.
NASA’s Artemis II rocket has been moved to the launch pad as preparations ramp up for its highly anticipated April launch.
NASA rolled the Artemis II rocket to the launchpad Thursday night while the four astronauts assigned to the test flight around the moon have entered quarantine ahead of the planned April 1 liftoff.
The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, marking a major milestone in final launch preparations. NASA said rollout operations began around 8 p.m., and the trip took about 12 hours to make the 4-mile trek to the pad.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, are seen as they climb the incline at Launch Pad 39B, Friday, March 20, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Artemis II will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the far side of the moon and back. The mission will test spacecraft systems and help pave the way for future lunar exploration.
NASA confirmed the Artemis II crew began a prelaunch quarantine on Wednesday in Houston ahead of the launch. The quarantine is designed to protect astronauts from illness in the final weeks before launch, reducing the risk of delays for the highly anticipated crewed moon mission.
The crew are expected to travel to Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the coming weeks.
The Artemis II crew (from left to right) Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, don their Orion Crew Survival System Suits for a multi-day crew module training beginning Thursday, July 31, 2025 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image: NASA)
Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed moon mission since the Apollo era, sending astronauts on a 10-day flight around the moon and back to Earth. The mission will test critical systems aboard the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket before future lunar landing missions.
NASA continues to plan for an April 1 launch. If the launch is delayed because of technical or weather issues, NASA has additional launch opportunities from April 2 through April 6 and again on April 30 before the mission could be delayed until later this spring.
The mission follows the successful uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022 and is a key step in NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon and prepare for future exploration, including potential lunar landings later this decade.
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