Artemis II

ANU researchers at Mount Stromlo will work with teams from NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center during Artemis II.

The Starlink 34343 anomaly posed no immediate risk to the International Space Station or the Artemis II crewed mission.

ANU’s Quantum Optical Ground Station at Mount Stromlo Observatory will track Orion and transmit and receive communications during the Artemis II demonstration.

Artemis II had a 2-hour launch window.

Artemis II was scheduled to launch on April 1, 2026 at 22:24 UTC.

The Crew Active Dosimeter provides personal, time-resolved radiation monitoring during Artemis II.

NASA initiated the Artemis II countdown at 20:44 UTC on March 30, 2026.

NASA is targeting an Artemis II launch in the first week of April starting on April 1.

Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight in the Artemis program.

NASA transported Artemis II’s SLS rocket to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 20 after pre-launch preparatory work.

The 10-day Artemis II test flight is scheduled for no earlier than Thursday 2 April, Canberra time.

The Australian National University is partnering with NASA to support a laser communications demonstration planned for Artemis II.

Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to attempt using lasers to transmit data from that distance.

Artemis II is scheduled to rise on the same day as Tianlong-3's return.

Artemis II will be an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon.

Artemis II remains targeted for the April 2026 launch window as the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft in a high Earth orbit and lunar flyby configuration.

Through a partnership with the Australian Space Agency, the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System will also downlink data to ANU’s Quantum Optical Ground Station during the mission.

The Artemis II astronauts traveled from NASA’s Johnson Space Center to Kennedy Space Center on March 27 while remaining in quarantine.