The next mission to take humans to the Moon is edging closer, with the planned rollout of the Space Launch System rocket planned for this weekend, 17 January 2026.
NASA says it's targeting no earlier than 07:00 EST (12:00 UTC) on Saturday for the rollout of the Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
More on Artemis II
The assembly containing the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule – which is where the Artemis II astronauts will be enclosed during the mission – has been prepped and will begin its journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Rolling out the next rocket to the Moon
Rollout of the Artemis II rocket and capsule could take up to 12 hours, as the rocket has about 6.5km (4 miles) to travel.
Once the rollout is complete, ground teams will continue to work on the rocket, making final preparations ahead of launch.
NASA says that, if needed, the SLS and Orion capsule may be rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work.
The live rollout will be available to watch via NASA's YouTube channel.
What's next?
Once final preparations have been completed, Artemis II will be ready for launch.
NASA has released Artemis II launch dates that show lift-off could happen as early as Friday 6 February 2026, and as late as April 2026.
There are multiple conditions that need to fall into place, before Artemis II is ready for launch, which is why multiple launch windows have been set by NASA.
These include the correct Earth-Moon-Sun alignment, the weather and the readiness of both the rocket and support infrastructure on the ground.
Artemis II's journey
Artemis II marks the first crewed flight of the Artemis programme, the Artemis I mission – which launched on 16 November 2022 – having been an uncrewed test flight.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen make up the four-person Artemis II crew.
During the mission they'll lift off from Kennedy Space Center, then go into orbit around Earth.
Once they get the go-ahead, an engine burn will steer them away from Earth orbit and towards the Moon.
They'll then 'slingshot' around the Moon, using the Moon's gravitational pull to bring them round the far side of the Moon to begin their journey home.
The whole mission is expected to last about 10 days, before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Because the same side of the Moon always faces Earth, the Artemis II astronauts will get to see the far side of the Moon, which is never visible from the ground.
At this point, Earth will be lost from view for the Artemis II astronauts temporarily, their only perspective being the crated lunar surface on one side, and the deep, dark cosmos on the other.
The mission is a pre-cursor to Artemis III, which will take astronauts back to the surface of the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.
And the Artemis programme itself is seen as a stepping stone to creating a permanent settlement on the Moon, as well as a springboard for putting human feet on Mars.
