NASA Rolls Out Artemis II Moon Rocket: First Crewed Lunar Flyby in 50 Years
NASA began rolling out the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on the night of March 19, 2026 (targeting 8 PM EDT start; ~12-hour journey to the pad).
The rollout follows the resolution of a helium flow issue in the rocket's upper stage that had caused a temporary rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on February 25, 2026, pushing the launch target to no earlier than April 1, 2026.
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed mission of the Artemis program — carrying four astronauts on a 10-day free-return trajectory around the Moon and back to Earth, the first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — the first non-American to fly on a lunar mission.
The crew entered pre-launch quarantine on March 18, 2026, as final preparations for the launch window proceeded.
The Artemis Program: NASA's Return to the Moon
The Artemis program is NASA's initiative to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972. Named after the Greek goddess of the Moon (twin sister of Apollo), Artemis aims to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface. The program uses two key hardware elements: the Space Launch System (SLS) — the most powerful rocket ever built — and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Artemis I (November 2022) was the first uncrewed test flight; Artemis II is the first crewed mission; Artemis III is planned to land astronauts on the Moon's South Pole region, targeting water ice deposits.
Artemis II is the critical "crewed qualification flight" — testing all life support, navigation, and re-entry systems with humans aboard before committing to a lunar landing in Artemis III.
Space Launch System (SLS): The World's Most Powerful Rocket
The Space Launch System (SLS) is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA — the most powerful rocket in history by thrust at launch. SLS Block 1 (used for Artemis I and II) generates approximately 8.8 million pounds (39.1 MN) of thrust at liftoff — surpassing the Saturn V (7.5 million pounds of thrust) used in the Apollo missions. The SLS uses four RS-25 engines (heritage from the Space Shuttle) in its core stage plus two solid rocket boosters (SRBs). It can lift approximately 95 metric tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in Block 1 configuration.
The SLS's rollout to the pad is a logistically complex operation — the crawler-transporter takes ~12 hours to move the 6.5 km from the VAB to the launch pad at ~1.6 km/h — highlighting the scale and precision required for human lunar missions.
Orion Spacecraft: NASA's Deep Space Crew Vehicle
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is designed for deep space exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) — specifically crewed missions to the Moon and (in the future) Mars. Orion consists of a crew module (CM, built by Lockheed Martin), service module (SM, built by ESA), and launch abort system (LAS). On Artemis II, Orion will carry four astronauts on a free-return trajectory — travelling ~380,000 km to the Moon, looping around it, and returning to Earth in ~10 days without entering lunar orbit.
The crewed Artemis II flight validates Orion's life support, thermal control, and re-entry systems with humans aboard — critical safety data before NASA commits to a lunar orbit or landing mission.
- Artemis II rollout: March 19, 2026 (8 PM EDT); launch no earlier than April 1, 2026
- Crew: Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen (CSA) — first non-American on lunar mission
- Mission duration: 10 days; free-return trajectory around the Moon
- Last crewed lunar flyby: Apollo 17, December 1972 — ~50+ years ago
- SLS thrust at liftoff: ~8.8 million pounds — most powerful rocket in history (exceeds Saturn V)
- SLS height (with Orion): ~98 metres
- Orion heat shield re-entry speed: ~11 km/s (lunar return)
- India signed the Artemis Accords: June 2023
- Artemis III (planned lunar landing): SpaceX Starship selected as Human Landing System