![NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman holds a press conference with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and US astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman on January 17, as NASA's Artemis II is rolled from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. [Mauricio Paiz/NurPhoto via AFP]](/gc8/images/2026/01/20/53559-NASA-Artemis-mission-370_237.webp)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman holds a press conference with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and US astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman on January 17, as NASA's Artemis II is rolled from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. [Mauricio Paiz/NurPhoto via AFP] By BlueShift |
NASA's towering Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are now in position to lift off for the first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years, after arriving at the launch pad on January 17.
The immense orange and white rocket and spacecraft reached Launch Pad 39B after a four mile (6.5km) journey aboard NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 from the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building.
The transit took 12 hours, with the crawler moving at a maximum speed of 0.82 mph, according to the US space agency.
With the rocket and spacecraft now in position, NASA will begin a string of tests for the Artemis II mission, which could blast off as early as February 6.
![Work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on January 16, in preparation for rollout to the launch pad (left), where they are seen January 17. [NASA/Kim Shiflett (left)/Keegan Barber (right)]](/gc8/images/2026/01/20/53553-photo-collage-nasa-370_237.webp)
Work platforms are retracted from around NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on January 16, in preparation for rollout to the launch pad (left), where they are seen January 17. [NASA/Kim Shiflett (left)/Keegan Barber (right)] ![The mobile launcher, with NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft secured to it, is seen inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before the doors were opened and it was rolled out to Launch Pad 39B on January 17. [NASA/Joel Kowsky]](/gc8/images/2026/01/20/53551-nasa-artemis-2-370_237.webp)
The mobile launcher, with NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft secured to it, is seen inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before the doors were opened and it was rolled out to Launch Pad 39B on January 17. [NASA/Joel Kowsky]
Engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis II rocket for the wet dress rehearsal, a test of fueling operations and countdown procedures, per NASA.
Targeted for no later than February 2, the team will load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket.
Additional wet dress rehearsals may be required to ensure the vehicle is completely checked out and ready for flight, it said.
If needed, NASA may roll SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work ahead of launch, after the wet dress rehearsal.
Historic undertaking
If the tests are all satisfactory, US astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canada's Jeremy Hansen, will set off on a lunar orbital mission sometime between February 6 and the end of April.
The four astronauts will participate in a number of studies to help scientists learn more about human health in space before, during and after their voyage, in preparation for future missions.
The roughly 10-day mission would be a huge step towards the United States once again setting foot on the lunar surface.
"We're making history," Artemis 2 mission management team chair John Honeycutt said during a January 16 press conference.
All four astronauts were on site for the rocket's rollout, AFP reported.
"I'm actually pretty pumped to see that," Hansen said. "In just a few weeks, you're going to see four humans fly around the moon, and if we're doing that now, imagine what we can do next."
"We're swinging for the fence, trying to make the impossible possible," Glover said.
The Artemis program, named after Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology, was unveiled in 2017 as NASA's ambitious program to establish a long-term presence on the moon and apply those lessons to eventual Mars missions.
Its first mission, Artemis 1, was an uncrewed test flight to the moon in 2022.
As the Artemis program picks up pace, China is mounting a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed lunar mission.
Its uncrewed Chang'e 7 robotic lunar mission is expected to launch this year, for an exploration of the moon's south pole, and testing of its crewed spacecraft Mengzhou is also set to go ahead this year.