Summary

  • Nasa has given an update on the Artemis II Moon mission, saying that the weather forecast for Wednesday, the first possible launch day, is "80 per cent go"

  • It comes after the crew took questions from quarantine, which is typical to limit their exposure to others and ensure they don't pick up illnesses that might delay the mission

  • After some delays, possible launch dates for Artemis II are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 30 April 2026. The launch window is tight as mission planners have to wait until the Moon is in the right part of its orbit

  • Artemis II's crew of four is made up of Nasa commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch

  • A second mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, will also be on board

Live Reporting

Edited by Oliver O'Connell

  1. Nasa keeping close watch on the weather

    Officials from Nasa say that the weather forecast for Cape Canaveral in Florida is "80 per cent go" for the launch of Artemis II this week.

    The launch could come as early as Wednesday evening local time.

    Artemis II's crew and ground systems are ready, but the team will monitor cloud and wind conditions on launch day.

    As a reminder, the February launch was delayed due to a helium flow issue.

    This will be the first crewed lunar mission in over half a century, the last being in 1972.

    The roughly 10-day journey will take the four astronauts farther into space than any humans have ever gone.

    We are now ending our live stream of today's news conferences ahead of this week's historic launch. There will be another update from Nasa at 17:00 ET on Monday.

    Stay with us through this week for all the latest on Artemis II.

  2. Nasa issuing update on Artemis II mission - watch live

    The team at Nasa are giving an update on the Artemis II Moon mission - you can watch it live at the top of this page.

    The mission - which will be the first human trip around the moon since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s - is aiming for an early April launch.

    It has been held up due to a hydrogen rocket fuel leak in February and a helium leak in March.

    Beyond resolving the technical issues, mission planners also have to wait until the Moon is in the right part of its orbit, so launch windows are timed accordingly.

    This creates a pattern of roughly one week at the start of each month when the rocket can be pointed in the right direction.

    When the mission eventually has the go-ahead for launch, uou’ll be able to follow the Artemis II mission with the BBC’s space podcast, 13 Minutes - and we'll be bringing you live coverage on the website.

    We won't be providing regular text updates of Nasa's comments, but you can follow along above.

  3. Crew finish speaking, Nasa to give update shortly

    The crew of Nasa's Artemis II have just finished taking questions.

    The next event will be at 19:00 BST, when Nasa will be giving an update on the Moon mission.

    We'll be keeping our live stream running at the top of the page - you can see live footage of the launch pad.

  4. Nasa Artemis II crew taking questions ahead of moon mission

    The crew of Nasa's Artemis II mission are answering questions from quarantine ahead of the launch of the moon mission.

    Nasa is aiming for an early April launch for the first crewed mission around the Moon in more than 50 years.

    The Artemis II mission, which will last about 10 days, will take its astronauts further into space than anyone has been before.

    Artemis II's crew of four is made up of Nasa commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch. A second mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, will also be on board.

    The mission involves the first crewed flight of Nasa's gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion space capsule.

    We won't be bringing you regular text updates, but you can watch their comments live at the top of the page.