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NASA Sets March 6 as New Launch Target for Artemis Moon Mission

The Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 1. — The Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 1.
Photographer: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP/Getty Images

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By Lorelei Smillie

February 20, 2026 at 4:30 PM UTC

NASA is targeting March 6 to launch the Artemis II astronauts to the vicinity of the moon for the first time since 1972.

The four crew members are readying to enter quarantine later on Friday to prepare for the launch, the agency said.