NASA prepares to roll out mega Artemis II rocket ahead of astronaut moon mission
NASA says it is taking final steps toward a possible February launch of Artemis II, the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.
AccuWeather’s Anna Azallion marks the top astronomy stories of 2026 from the return of a total solar eclipse to the Artemis II mission that aims to return humans to the moon.
NASA says it is preparing to roll its massive 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket to the launchpad in Florida as the agency gets closer to launching the first human spaceflight around the moon since the Apollo era.
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are currently inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where teams are completing final integration work ahead of the 4-mile journey to Launch Complex 39B.
“We are moving closer to Artemis II, with rollout just around the corner,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “We have important steps remaining on our path to launch, and crew safety will remain our top priority at every turn as we near humanity’s return to the moon.”
The NASA moon rocket stands on Pad 39B before the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
NASA is targeting no earlier than February for the second-ever launch of the SLS rocket, which will generate about 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff as it begins the Artemis II test flight carrying astronauts from the United States and Canada.
The Artemis II mission comes more than three years after the successful Artemis I launch in 2022, which marked the first full end-to-end test of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. During that uncrewed mission, Orion traveled about 1.4 million miles, entered a distant orbit around the moon, performed multiple close lunar flybys and safely returned to Earth.
When Artemis II launches from Kennedy Space Center, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will fly aboard Orion. The mission will make them the first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit since 1972.
The Artemis II crew is expected to spend about 10 days in space before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
Once the rocket reaches Launch Complex 39B, teams will conduct a wet dress rehearsal, loading more than 700,000 gallons of supercooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the rocket and carrying out a full countdown practice without the astronauts aboard.
When will Artemis II launch?
The Artemis II crew (from left to right) Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, don their Orion Crew Survival System Suits for a multi-day crew module training beginning Thursday, July 31, 2025 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image: NASA)
NASA says the first Artemis II launch window opens Feb. 6, but a specific launch date will be announced only after the wet dress rehearsal and a formal flight readiness review.
“NASA expects to learn along the way, both on the ground and in flight, and will let the readiness and performance of its systems dictate when the agency is ready to launch,” the space agency said ahead of the planned rollout.
If the mission does not launch during the February window, the next opportunity opens in March, followed by another launch period beginning April 1.
For the Artemis I launch in 2022, Hurricane Ian forced NASA to roll the $4 billion SLS rocket back into the hangar to protect it from the storm.
Artemis I ultimately launched on NASA’s third attempt in November 2022 after a high-stakes fuel leak repair on the launchpad.
