NASA makes final preparations for its first crewed moon mission in over 50 years

"Back in 2024, NASA announced that the Artemis 2 mission was going to be pushed back to April 2026. Now, the agency says it could launch as early as February, with the first flight opportunity being on February 6. NASA is currently making the final preparations for the mission and will soon roll out the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft to their launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida."

"The spacecraft system's four-mile journey from the assembly building to Launch Pad 39B will take up to 12 hours. NASA is targeting a date no earlier than January 17, with the exact day depending on the weather and on the possible need for additional time to address technical issues. Artemis 2 is the first crewed mission to the moon since the Apollo program's final flight in 1972."

NASA is targeting a February 2026 launch for Artemis 2, with the first flight opportunity on February 6 and a no-earlier-than rollout date of January 17 dependent on weather and technical readiness. The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will roll four miles from the assembly building to Launch Pad 39B, a journey expected to take up to 12 hours. The 10-day crewed mission will carry four astronauts to test Orion's life support systems, orbit Earth twice, and travel about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the Moon. A wet dress rehearsal with cryogenic fueling and a full countdown is planned at the end of January.

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