NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon is inching toward launch
NASA rolled out the fully stacked Artemis II rocket and Orion capsule on Saturday, embarking on a four-mile journey to the launch pad
Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images
NASA’s Artemis II began its final journey on Earth Saturday. The fully stacked Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., a milestone for the first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years.
“This is the start of a very long journey,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said at a press conference on Sunday.
From the gigantic shed it has called home, Artemis II will take a leisurely pace of one mile an hour to make the four-mile trip to Launch Pad 39B, a journey that will take approximately eight to 10 days.
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Once the rocket makes it to the pad, the real fun begins. On Friday, NASA officials laid out the series of tests and checks Artemis II will need to complete before it is cleared for takeoff, including the critical “wet dress rehearsal.” That involves pumping the rocket full of cryogenic propellant and practicing the countdown sequence as if it were about to launch—testing the rocket’s limits without humans onboard.
If all goes to plan, NASA is targeting a launch no earlier than February 6.
Artemis II is a test of the space agency’s readiness to send humans back to the lunar surface—but the mission won’t actually be landing on the moon. Instead four astronauts—NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—will take a loop around the moon, going farther into space than any human has gone before.
On the 10-day journey, the astronauts will conduct a series of experiments and tests that will inform NASA’s next planned moon mission, Artemis III. Eventually, the space agency wants to set up a permanently staffed base on the lunar surface, a goal Isaacman emphasized at the press conference on Saturday.
But before any of that can happen, Artemis II must first complete its mission. “We really are ready to go,” Wiseman said at the same press conference.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
