The crew includes NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission will begin with an Earth orbit before the spacecraft heads toward the Moon, with the entire journey expected to last around 10 days. This is NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.
Now it is in position, the final tests, checks – and a dress rehearsal – will take place, before the go-ahead is given for the 10-day Artemis II mission that will see four astronauts travel around the Moon. Nasa says the earliest the rocket can blast off is 6 February, but there are also more launch windows later that month, as well as in March and April, according to BBC.
The rocket began moving at 07:04 local time (12:04 GMT) and arrived at Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center at 18:41 local time (23:42 GMT). The rocket was carried by a huge machine called a crawler-transporter, travelling at a top speed of 0.82 mph (1.3 km/h) as it trundled along. Live coverage captured the slow-moving spectacle.
Nasa said the rocket will be prepared over the next few days for what it calls a “wet dress rehearsal” – a test for fuel operations and countdown procedures. “The architecture you see behind us here with SLS and the Orion spacecraft is just the beginning,” NASA Director Jared Isaacman said. “Launching missions like this will help us learn and evolve, enabling repeatable, affordable trips to and from the Moon.”
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Artemis II to not land on the moon
According to a report in BBC, Artemis II is not scheduled to land on the Moon, but will instead lay the groundwork for a future lunar landing led by the Artemis III mission. NASA said the launch of Artemis III will take place “no earlier than” 2027.
Before Artemis II heads to the Moon, the first two days of their mission will be spent in orbit around the Earth. “We’re going to be going into an orbit almost right away that is 40,000 miles out – like a fifth of the way of the Moon,” Koch told BBC News. “We will have the Earth out the window as a single ball, something none of us have seen in that perspective. “And then we’re going to travel a quarter of a million miles away… we’re going to do a lot of science and operations along the way.”
With the rocket now positioned at Launch Pad 39B, the Artemis team is working around the clock to prepare it for liftoff. The mission has already faced years of delays, putting NASA under pressure to send the astronauts on their way as soon as possible. However, the US space agency has made it clear that safety will not be compromised.
John Honeycutt, chair of the Artemis mission management team, said, “I have one job, and that is the safe return of Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy. We’re going to fly when we’re ready — crew safety will always be our number one priority.”
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What is NASA’s Artemis II mission?
Under the Artemis campaign, NASA is returning humans to the Moon for economic benefits, scientific discovery, and to prepare for crewed missions to Mars. For the first time since 1972, NASA is sending humans back on a path toward the Moon with the Artemis II mission. Launching aboard a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, will set off to orbit the Moon on a 10-day mission. This will be the first crewed flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon. Their goal is to verify modern human capabilities in deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.
“Artemis II will be a momentous step forward for human spaceflight. This historic mission will send humans farther from Earth than ever before and deliver the insights needed for us to return to the Moon — all with America at the helm,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II represents progress toward establishing a lasting lunar presence and sending Americans to Mars. I could not be more impressed by our NASA team and the Artemis II crew, and wish them well. Boldly forward.”
