It has been more than half a century since humans last set foot on the moon, but a new milestone is on the horizon. NASA’s ambitious Artemis program is gearing up for the Artemis II mission, which will see four astronauts, including Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover, orbiting the moon.
Scheduled to launch no earlier than February 6, the mission requires thorough checks on both the rocket and the spacecraft before the crew can embark on their historic journey. The colossal 100-meter tall Space Launch System (SLS) is set to roll out on Saturday, marking a crucial step in the mission’s preparations.
John Honeycutt, Artemis II mission management team chair, expressed excitement during a recent press conference, emphasizing the significance of the upcoming mission. The SLS and the Orion spacecraft, where the astronauts will reside for 10 days, have only been launched once for the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022. Now, they are poised to carry human passengers for the first time.
While the astronauts will not land on the lunar surface during Artemis II, they will engage in lunar surveillance, experiments, and spacecraft testing to pave the way for Artemis III. Artemis III is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028 and will involve astronauts walking on the moon.
The upcoming rollout of the SLS on Saturday is expected to commence at 7 a.m. ET, with a slow journey to the launch pad lasting between eight to 12 hours due to the rocket’s massive weight of five million kilograms. Various preparations, including the retraction of the crew access arm, will take place before the rocket reaches the pad.
Following the rollout, connections will be established over the next day, leading up to the wet dress rehearsal where the rocket will be fueled as if it were launch day. This critical rehearsal ensures that all systems are functioning correctly before the final launch preparations. The team is focused on meticulous preparation, learning from past experiences such as the Artemis I test flights before giving the green light for the February 6 launch window.