NASA to unveil last piece of hardware for the Artemis II Orion mission
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NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft will launch in April 2026. (Photo Credit: Kim Shiflett/NASA)
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- NASA is ready to show off its final piece of space flight hardware for the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission.
NASA has invited media to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to see the piece.
The rest of the SLS rocket for Artemis II is stacked on mobile launcher 1 at Kennedy. Artemis II, NASA's first mission with crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, is scheduled for a 10-day trip around the moon in April 2026.
The Orion stage adapter, built by NASA Marshall, connects the SLS rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA's Orion spacecraft. The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket. The adapter will also carry small payloads, called CubeSats, to deep space.
The Artemis II Orion stage adapter was built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. It's the final piece to the space flight hardware for the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission. (Photo Credit: NASA)
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars, NASA said.
That lunar flyby mission carrying four astronauts is set for launch in April 2026. It's a flight test mission that will pave the way for landing the first woman and the next man on the moon.
The Artemis II astronauts share a light moment during a press conference at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 30. From left: Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch, Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman. The second Artemis mission is set to launch and circle the moon in April 2026. (Photo Credit: Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo)
Onboard will be Commader Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman, Glover and Koch are NASA astronauts. Hansen is from the Canadian Space Agency.
According to Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin, Artemis II builds on the uncrewed Artemis I flight test.
"This mission will prove Orion's critical life support systems are ready to sustain our astronauts on longer duration missions ahead and allow the crew to practice operations essential to the success of Artemis III," Sarafin said in a statement.
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