Twice-delayed Artemis II mission now set for April with Canadian Jeremy Hansen

By Canadian Press on March 12, 2026.

NASA’s planned launch of a moon rocket with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen aboard is set for early April.

The Artemis II mission has been delayed twice since February because of hydrogen fuel leaks and helium flow problems with the Space Launch System.

But officials with the American space agency told a news conference today those issues have been fixed and plans are to roll out the rocket to the launch pad in Florida on March 19.

Lori Glaze, a senior NASA official, says the launch window is the first week of April with the first possible date April 1.

Hansen, 50, of London, Ont., will serve as mission specialist during Artemis II, becoming the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit, a historic achievement for Canada.

His crewmates are veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.

The planned 10-day mission would see the astronauts travel past the moon, around its far side and then straight back to Earth.