February 20, 2026
2 min read
NASA just passed a major milestone on its mission to return humans to the moon
By completing a second “wet dress rehearsal” of its upcoming moon mission, NASA said it is targeting a March 6 launch date for Artemis II
The second time is the charm, apparently. NASA successfully completed a major test of its upcoming moon mission, Artemis II, on Thursday. NASA acting associate administration Lori Glaze on Friday said that with the test done, the agency is now targeting a March 6 launch date for the mission.
Known as a wet dress rehearsal, the test involved fueling the mission’s rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), readying the crew capsule and initiating a mock launch countdown. Its apparent success marked significant progress for the agency: NASA’s first attempted wet dress rehearsal on February 2 exposed several issues with both the SLS and the Orion capsule, including hydrogen fuel leaks—a problem that also plagued the mission’s predecessor, Artemis I.
At a press conference on Friday, NASA’s Artemis launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, said the agency is confident they have fixed the leaks, and none arose during Thursday’s mock fueling and launch countdown.
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The test is critical to Artemis II: The SLS cannot launch without passing it. And the failure of the first wet dress rehearsal forced NASA to delay its target launch date to March at the earliest.
NASA has still not revealed exactly when Artemis II will launch. The mission will see four astronauts—NASA’s Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—fly on a 10-day journey that will take them on an extended loop around the moon and back to Earth.
Together, they will observe the moon’s elusive farside and perform critical tests that will help form the basis for Artemis III—NASA’s planned mission to, by 2028, return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century.
Editor’s Note (2/20/26): This article was edited after posting to correct Jeremy Hansen’s name. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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