NASA is in the final stages of preparation for its historic Artemis II mission, targeting February 6, 2026, as the earliest possible launch date. This landmark mission marks the agency's first crewed journey to the vicinity of the Moon in over 50 years, following the Apollo program which concluded in 1972. The Indian Express article accurately reports that the mission 'eyes a February 6 liftoff,' reflecting that this date signifies the opening of a launch window that extends through April 2026, rather than a definitive launch day. The exact launch date will be finalized only after a critical 'wet dress rehearsal,' involving full fueling and a mock countdown, and a subsequent flight readiness review. The Artemis II mission is a crucial test flight, designed to send four astronauts – NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen – on an approximately 10-day lunar flyby. The crew will orbit the Moon and return to Earth without attempting a lunar landing, focusing instead on validating the Orion spacecraft's systems, life support, and deep-space navigation capabilities. The mission will launch from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B in Florida, utilizing the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The rollout of the fully integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad commenced around January 17, 2026, signaling the immediate precursor to these final pre-launch tests. This mission is a vital step in NASA's broader Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and pave the way for future human missions to Mars.