Moving at a pace slower than a casual bicycle ride, NASA’s towering Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule made their way to the launchpad in January, marking a quiet but historic milestone on the road back to the Moon. On Jan. 17, 2026, the nearly football-field-tall Space Launch System and its Orion spacecraft stack rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to Launch Complex 39B at just under one mile per hour. The deliberate crawl stood in sharp contrast to what awaits on launch day, when the rocket is expected to accelerate to more than 22,000 miles per hour, sending four astronauts on a crewed journey around the Moon.
Lights illuminate NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock
That launch is currently targeted for March 2026, though officials caution it could slip into April. The mission was originally expected to fly as early as February, highlighting how human spaceflight remains subject to an array of factors beyond engineers’ control — from orbital mechanics and weather to wildlife and maritime traffic near the pad.
Known as Artemis II, the mission is designed as a critical proving flight. Its primary objective is not to land, but to thoroughly test every major system of the deep-space launch vehicle and crew capsule in the harsh environment beyond low Earth orbit. The data gathered will pave the way for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon’s south pole later this decade.
If Artemis II launches successfully, it will mark the first time humans have traveled to the Moon since December 1972, when Apollo 17 departed lunar orbit for the final time. The four-person crew will fly past the Moon’s far side — a region no human has seen firsthand in more than half a century — before returning to Earth on a roughly 10-day mission culminating in a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
For perspective, no one under the age of about 54 has lived in a world where humans ventured that far from Earth. Artemis II will, in effect, reopen a chapter of exploration that has remained closed since the end of the Apollo era.
The decision not to land on Artemis II is intentional. NASA officials often compare the approach to mountaineering: before attempting the summit of Mount Everest, climbers test their gear and procedures under less extreme conditions. A lunar landing is far more unforgiving than any terrestrial peak, and verifying every component — from propulsion and navigation to life support and reentry — is essential before committing a crew to the surface.
While NASA has landed astronauts on the Moon before, the 54-year gap since Apollo presents its own challenges. Most engineers who worked on Apollo have long since retired, and only four of the 12 moonwalkers are still alive. Technology has also changed dramatically. The Apollo Lunar Module’s computer had roughly 4 kilobytes of memory — less than one-thousandth the size of a single modern smartphone photo.
The Artemis II hardware reflects decades of evolution and reinvention. Orion traces its roots to the Constellation program announced in 2005, an effort to move human spaceflight beyond the space shuttle and the International Space Station. The Space Launch System began development in the early 2010s as a replacement for the canceled Ares rocket. Built primarily by Boeing, with contributions from more than 1,000 suppliers, SLS first flew in 2022 on the uncrewed Artemis I mission, successfully looping around the Moon.
NASA’s step-by-step strategy mirrors that of Apollo itself. In December 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, circling the Moon without landing. During that mission, astronaut William Anders captured the iconic Earthrise photograph — an image that reshaped humanity’s view of its home planet and remains a symbol of planetary fragility.
Beyond its engineering goals, Artemis II also carries unique scientific value. The astronauts will be the first humans to directly observe the lunar far side since the Apollo era. From Orion’s windows, the Moon will appear roughly the size of a beach ball held at arm’s length.
Robotic spacecraft have already mapped most of the Moon in extraordinary detail, particularly through the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC. Its wide-angle camera images the surface at about 100 meters per pixel, while the narrow-angle camera can resolve features as small as one to two meters, clearly identifying large boulders and even Apollo landing sites.
Yet human observation offers something no camera can fully replicate. Astronauts see the Moon in true color rather than instrument-enhanced wavelengths, and — crucially — they bring geological training and real-time judgment. From orbit, the Artemis II crew will be able to interpret features instantly, adjust what they are observing, and provide context that robotic systems cannot.
With the rocket and capsule now standing at the pad, NASA’s work is not finished. Final milestones include fueling tests, checks of emergency escape systems, and rehearsals involving hazardous propellants such as hydrazine, an extremely energy-dense fuel used for spacecraft maneuvering. The process follows a long-standing aerospace principle: test like you fly.
Once those checks are complete, Artemis II will be ready to carry humans farther from Earth than anyone has traveled in more than five decades — a pivotal step toward sustained exploration of the Moon and, eventually, destinations beyond.
Add comment
Comments