Artemis II Press Kit - https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii-press-kit/
NASA website with links to lots of resources for Artemis II - https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii-media-resources/
Go #Artemis2
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Live coverage of Artemis II mission with commentary and views of the SLS+Orion rocket at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Detailed schedule of events for today and progress reports for the Artemis II mission at https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/04/01/live-artemis-ii-launch-day-updates/
9:25 EDT: The Artemis II launch team has begun the liquid hydrogen chilldown for the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, or SLS (Space Launch System) rocket upper stage.
The 4 astronauts got a scheduled wake-up call at 9:25 a.m. EDT, marking the start of their final preparations for the historic Artemis II mission around the Moon.
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Artemis II countdown proceeding smoothly.
Liquid Hydrogen tanks in the core and interim cryogenic propulsion stage are at 100% level.
The interim cryogenic propulsion stage liquid hydrogen tank was transitioned to replenish mode. This phase ensures the tank remains at flight-ready levels all the way to launch.
Written updates at https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/04/01/live-artemis-ii-launch-day-updates/
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The Artemis II mission is similar to the Apollo 8 mission in Dec 1968.
The 8-day Apollo 8 mission carried 3 astronauts for a trip around the moon without landing. It orbited the moon 10 times at ~185 km altitude, while the Artemis II Orion spacecraft will just swing around once around the moon with a lowest altitude of 10,427 km.
Apollo 8 was followed by 2 more crewed missions, one to lunar orbit, before the historic landing in July 1969.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19760005868/downloads/19760005868.pdf
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The card game before the launch, a tradition going back to the Gemini days.
They say it helps relax the astronauts but really it is about superstitions and warding off bad luck.
The NASA Artemis blog states - "NASA crews play cards until the commander loses. It is hoped that by losing, the commander burns off all his or her bad luck, thereby clearing the mission for only good luck."
There are many such rituals in the space community. See https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1137/1
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