NASA Artemis II Rocket Reaches Launch Pad for Historic Moon Mission

Giant Moon Rocket Completes Marathon Journey to Launch Pad

NASA's 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket reached Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a nearly 12-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building on Saturday . The 5.7-million-pound rocket, carried by an upgraded Apollo-era crawler-transporter weighing six million pounds, began the trip just after 7 a.m. local time, creeping at a top speed of just under 1 mile per hour .

Thousands of space center workers and their families gathered in the predawn chill to witness the long-awaited event, huddling together ahead of the Space Launch System rocket's exit from the building that was built in the 1960s to accommodate the Saturn V rockets during the Apollo program . The cheering crowd was led by NASA's new administrator Jared Isaacman and all four astronauts assigned to the mission .

The 4.2-mile journey from the assembly to Launch Pad 39B took approximately twelve hours , with the most challenging point being a tight S-turn right outside the assembly building — similar to a highway on-ramp, but much more precarious when carrying a rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty .

Four Astronauts Prepare for Historic Lunar Flyby

The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back . Glover would become the first person of color, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American to travel to the Moon .

The mission will send the astronauts on an outbound trip of about four days, taking them around the far side of the Moon in a figure eight extending more than 230,000 miles from Earth, with the crew flying 4,600 miles beyond the Moon at their maximum distance . This fuel-efficient trajectory harnesses the Earth-Moon gravity field, ensuring that after its trip around the far side of the Moon, Orion will be pulled back naturally by Earth's gravity for the free return portion of the mission .

They will be the first people to fly to the moon since Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt closed out the triumphant lunar-landing program in 1972 . Twelve astronauts strolled the lunar surface, beginning with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969, and only four moonwalkers are still alive, with Aldrin, the oldest, turning 96 on Tuesday .

Critical Tests Before February Launch Window

Targeted for no later than February 2, teams will load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket during the wet dress rehearsal — all essential steps before the first crewed Artemis mission . During wet dress, teams demonstrate the ability to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellant .

The maiden flight of the SLS rocket in 2022 was delayed multiple times by propellant loading problems and persistent hydrogen leaks, but NASA and its contractor team have implemented multiple upgrades and procedural changes to minimize or eliminate any such problems the second time around . Engineers will have a close eye on propellant loading of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the rocket, after challenges encountered with liquid hydrogen loading during Artemis I wet dress rehearsals .

While the Artemis II launch window opens as early as Friday, February 6, the mission management team will assess flight readiness after the wet dress rehearsal across the spacecraft, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before selecting a launch date . If Artemis 2 is unable to launch in February, NASA can try again in March and April .

Gateway to Mars and Beyond

The rocket has a little more than half the thrust of SpaceX's Super Heavy-Starship rocket, but after a successful unpiloted test flight in 2022 — Artemis I — NASA deemed it safe enough to put astronauts aboard . Artemis II builds on the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022, and will demonstrate a broad range of capabilities needed on deep space missions as NASA's first mission with crew aboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft .

The mission represents more than just a lunar flyby — it's laying the foundation for humanity's next giant leap. That giant leap will come on the third flight in the Artemis lineup a few years from now