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NASA to Hold News Conference on Artemis II Progress Following Key Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center

By  //  March 9, 2026

NASA: vehicle could roll out to the launch pad for a second time later this month as agency prepares for potential April launch window

NASA’s crawler-transporter 2, carrying the agency’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft, arrives Feb. 25, 2026, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to troubleshoot the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Once complete, the SLS rocket will roll back to Launch Complex 39B to prepare to launch four astronauts around the Moon and back for the Artemis II test flight. (NASA/Cory Huston image)

Briefing from Kennedy Space Center Will Update Public on Upcoming Crewed Mission Around the Moon

BREVARD COUNTY • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – NASA officials will provide an update this week on preparations for the agency’s next crewed lunar mission, following a major internal review of the program.

NASA will host a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 12, at Kennedy Space Center to highlight progress toward the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Artemis program, which is intended to carry astronauts around the Moon.

The news conference will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media, as available.

The briefing will occur after completion of the mission’s Flight Readiness Review, a critical milestone that evaluates whether all systems, personnel, and procedures are prepared for launch. The event will be streamed live on NASA’s YouTube channel and other agency digital platforms.

Several senior NASA leaders are scheduled to participate in the media briefing, including NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

He will be joined by Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate; John Honeycutt, chair of the Artemis II Mission Management Team; Shawn Quinn, manager of the Exploration Ground Systems Program; and Norm Knight, director of the Flight Operations Directorate.

Several senior NASA leaders are scheduled to participate in the media briefing, including NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, above.

Meanwhile, engineers and technicians continue assembling the massive Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building.

NASA officials say the stacked vehicle could roll out to the launch pad for a second time later this month as the agency prepares for a potential April launch window.

Artemis II will send astronauts on a multi-day journey around the Moon, testing systems needed for future lunar landings and long-duration exploration missions. The flight will build on the success of Artemis I, an uncrewed test mission that orbited the Moon in 2022.

NASA officials say the Artemis program represents a new era of exploration that will expand scientific research on the Moon, stimulate economic opportunities in space, and lay the groundwork for eventual human missions to Mars.

For more information about the Artemis program, visit NASA’s Artemis webpage at nasa.gov/artemis.

The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission (left to right): NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. (Imaged by NASA)