- NASA has set a new target launch date of April 1 for its Artemis II mission, marking humanity's first trip to the Moon in over 50 years.
- However, the space agency has only a handful of days in early April to launch before standing down until April 30 into early May.
- The mission has suffered a series of delays due to fuel leaks and a helium-flow issue with the Space Launch System rocket, requiring repairs.
- NASA's administrator, Jared Isaacman, has announced an overhaul of the Artemis program, adding an extra practice flight (now Artemis III) and shifting the crewed Moon landing to Artemis IV, targeting 2028.
- SpaceX and Blue Origin are accelerating work on lunar landers to meet the 2028 target, though technical challenges, such as in-orbit refueling, remain.
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