We're potentially just weeks away from the Artemis II mission's launch to the Moon, and a lone NASA astronaut has photographed the Artemis rocket on its launch pad, from the viewpoint of the International Space Station.
"I took this photo of NASA's Kennedy Space Center this weekend," Williams said in a post on the social media platform X.
More on Artemis II
"It is not my best photo (should have grabbed a different lens) but it is special. If you zoom in on the rightmost launch pad, you can see a shadow just to the left of the center of the pad."
The image shows the Artemis II rocket ready to launch from Kennedy Space Center.
Artemis II is ready to go
Artemis II is the first crewed mission to the Moon since the Apollo era. It won't land on the Moon, but will instead take the four astronaut crewmembers on a journey further than any human being has travelled before.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be enclosed in the Orion capsule during the mission, which will be launched into Earth orbit by the Space Launch System (the rocket).
The Orion capsule will separate from the Space Launch System and begin its onward journey to the Moon.
It will travel beyond the Moon, then use the Moon's gravitational pull to 'slingshot' round the far side and begin the journey back to Earth.
Seeing the launchpad from space
On Saturday 17 January 2026, the Space Launch System and Orion capsule were rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Now situated at Launch Pad 39B, the rocket is awaiting the go-ahead from the NASA ground team and, according to the Artemis II launch dates, could lift off as early as 6 February 2026.
And that's what astronaut Chris Williams was able to capture from his viewpoint on the International Space Station, in orbit around our planet.
"That shadow is from the rocket (and launch tower) that will soon take four of my friends on a trip around the moon as part of the Artemis program!" he posted on X.
"This weekend was the rollout of the rocket, and we passed over Florida just as it was arriving to the pad."
NASA astronaut Chris Williams is the only crewmember from the United States left on the Space Station, following the early departure of Crew-11 as a result of a medical condition affecting one of the crew.
Williams is accompanied on the Space Station by his Russian cosmonaut colleagues Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.
His image of the rocket on its launchpad follows a previous image of the Artemis II launch system in the Vehicle Assembly Building prior to rollout, shared on X by Commander Reid Wiseman.
The excitement around Artemis II from NASA – astronauts, engineers and scientists – is palpable. And it's understandable.
We're on the brink of a new era of human spaceflight that will see astronauts land on the Moon once more, and potentially establish a permanent settlement on the lunar surface.
Are you excited about the Artemis programme? Let us know your thoughts by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com.
