NASA aims to launch four astronauts on Artemis lunar mission on April 1

NASA announced Thursday that it plans to launch four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the moon as early as April 1.

The space agency said it has several launch opportunities between April 1 and April 6 and has another chance on April 30 if needed. It declined to offer additional launch availabilities beyond April if there are any further delays, per NBC News.

The four-person crew will consist of commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The launch will be part of its Artemis II mission, which is part of the larger Artemis project that seeks to return humans to the moon. NASA is expected to attempt a lunar landing in 2028 with Artemis IV.

Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said teams are expected to roll the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft back to the launch pad for rehearsal next week.

“Everything is going pretty well,” Glaze said at a news briefing. "Just a reminder to everybody, we talk about it every time we talk about this flight, it's a test flight, and it is not without risk. But our team and our hardware are ready."

NASA had hoped to launch the mission and its crew in early February, but experienced a handful of setbacks recently, including hydrogen fuel leaks. 

Liftoff is now scheduled for 6:24 p.m. Eastern on April 1 if there are no further delays, and comes after NASA officials completed a two-day flight readiness review.