NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

What Happened

Why It Matters

17, 2026.Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock Before NASA sends its astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on their Artemis II mission around the Moon, the launch team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and teams across the country will begin counting down about two days before liftoff. A launch countdown contains “L Minus” and “T Minus” times.

Key Details

The “L minus” indicates how far away liftoff is in hours and minutes.
The “T minus” time is a sequence of events built into the launch countdown. Pauses in the countdown, or “holds,” are built in to allow the launch team to target a precise launch window, and to provide a cushion of time for certain tasks and procedures without impacting the overall schedule.
During planned holds in the countdown process, the countdown clock is intentionally stopped and the T- time also stops.
The L- time, however, continues to advance.

Background Context

NASA’s crawler-transporter carries the powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft on the Mobile Launcher from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the Artemis II mission on Jan. 17, 2026.Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock Before NASA sends its astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on their Artemis II mission around the Moon, the launch team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and teams across the country will begin counting down about two days before liftoff. A launch countdown contains “L Minus” and “T Minus” times. The “L minus” ind

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Source: NASA – Original Link

Source: NASA