The United States will attempt as early as next month the second-phase mission of the Artemis program to send astronauts back to the moon for the first time in 54 years.
On the 16th (local time), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the Space Launch System (SLS), the main rocket to be used for the Artemis II (second phase) mission, will be moved on the 17th from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Launch Pad 39B.
NASA said the SLS launch vehicle, which weighs 11 million pounds (about 5,000 tons), will be transported at about 1 mile (1.6 km) per hour and could take up to 12 hours to reach the pad.
NASA said, "In the coming weeks, NASA will complete final preparations for the rocket and, if needed, roll SLS and the Orion spacecraft back to the assembly building for additional work," adding, "The Artemis II launch window opens on Feb. 6."
With NASA entering full-scale launch preparations, the second phase of Artemis is a mission to test the performance and safety of the rocket and spacecraft ahead of Artemis III (third phase), which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time in about half a century since Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts will orbit the moon in a spacecraft and return in a mission lasting about 10 days.
If the second-phase mission proceeds as planned, the third-phase mission, which aims to land astronauts on the moon, is expected to be attempted next year (2027) or in 2028.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis II launch director, said, "We will conduct a wet dress rehearsal for the SLS rocket on Feb. 2 and decide on a Feb. 6 launch based on the results."
The February launch window runs from the 6th to the 11th. If a launch does not occur in that period, the schedule will move to March 6–11 and April 1–6, and so on.
NASA explained that these launch windows are set by considering complex orbital mechanics needed to place the spacecraft on a precise trajectory to the moon while Earth rotates and the moon orbits Earth each month.
U.S. media projected that the Artemis second-phase mission may be difficult to attempt as early as February.
Aerospace outlet Space.com noted, "If the goal is a Feb. 6 launch, it basically means everything has to go perfectly, but in reality that is not guaranteed at all," adding, "During the Artemis I mission, SLS experienced propellant loading issues, hydrogen leaks, and ground infrastructure processing problems, delaying the launch by more than six months."
John Honeycutt, manager of the Artemis second-phase mission team, emphasized that NASA will not overreach as it prepares two crewed flight missions in parallel.