NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman has shared an image showing the rocket that will take him and his three crew mates around the Moon and back.
The image was captured just prior to the rollout of the Space Launch System (SLS), which could lift off in a matter of weeks, marking the beginning of the Artemis II mission.
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Atop the Space Launch System sits the Orion capsule, where the astronauts will live during their journey to the Moon.
The image was captured in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Rollout for a journey to the Moon
Saturday 17 January 2026 saw the 'rollout' phase of the Artemis II mission, where the Space Launch System and Orion capsule were moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad.
The 4-mile journey took about 12 hours to complete, and now that the SLS has reached Launch Pad 39B, the stage is set for lift-off to the Moon.
NASA's Artemis II launch dates show Artemis II could lift off as early as 6 February 2026.
Before that, however, a 'wet dress rehearsal' is scheduled to run through the launch procedure for the ground crew and Mission Control.
The image here was shared by Reid Wiseman, Commander of Artemis II, via the social media platform X, while the Space Launch System was still in the Vehicle Assembly Building, just before rollout.
In the image, the ground team personnel are dwarfed by the sheer size of the rocket, putting into perspective just how mammoth an undertaking the Artemis II mission is.
Multiple work platforms surround the rocket, enabling engineers to access it at different levels and prepare it for launch.
After lift-off, the Artemis II crew will travel around the Moon and back, on a journey that will last about 10 days.
They won't land on the Moon.
Instead, they'll journey beyond the Moon, farther than any human being has travelled before, then use the Moon's gravitational pull to 'slingshot' them back to Earth, for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
