NASA's Artemis II lifts off April 1, offline 41 minutes
Technology
NASA's Artemis II mission blasts off April 1, 2026, and will briefly go off the grid for 41 minutes when the Orion spacecraft passes behind the Moon: No messages can get through during that window.
But this blackout is expected and nothing to stress about; Orion's onboard computers keep everything running smoothly while Earth waits for contact.
Artemis II 10-day lunar flyby
Artemis II is a 10-day lunar flyby with four astronauts on board, designed to test systems.
Launch window is set for 6:24pm EDT from Kennedy Space Center, and you can catch it all live on NASA+ or YouTube.
Even with the blackout, NASA has every detail mapped out — so the mission stays right on track.