Artemis II is scheduled to launch no earlier than the 8th of February 2026. NASA officials announced in September 2025 that they were pursuing a launch window opening on the 5th of February 2026 before a North American winter storm caused further delays.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the Artemis II crew on the 3rd of April 2023, selecting Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Jenni Gibbons serves as Hansen's backup while Andre Douglas acts as the backup for the three NASA astronauts.
Post-flight inspections found areas of char loss in the AVCOAT material where portions eroded more extensively than predicted by preflight models. Engineers determined the damage was caused by gases becoming trapped within the material leading to cracking and localized loss during reentry.
The outbound journey and lunar flyby take about four days with Orion flying around the Moon at a closest approach of approximately 136 kilometers from the far-side lunar surface. The return flight takes another four days with further trajectory correction burns to ensure accurate Earth re-entry.
Delays occurred due to engineering investigations into life support systems and heat shield damage following the uncrewed Artemis I mission. An October 2024 report from the NASA Office of Inspector General determined the Exploration Ground Systems team had exhausted time reserved for unforeseen issues.