A Full Moon Rising over NASA's Artemis II Moon Rocket | Kennedy Space Center

A Full Moon Rising over NASA's Artemis II Moon Rocket | Kennedy Space Center

A full Moon is seen shining over NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of February 1, 2026. The rocket is currently at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here it is seen as teams were preparing for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for the launch of Artemis II.

NASA now will target March 2026 as the earliest possible launch opportunity for the flight test.

The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than April 2026.

Read more about NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket: nasa.gov/sls

NASA Artemis II Mission page:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Follow NASA updates on the Artemis Program blog: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Video Credit: NASA/Sam Lott
Duration: 45 seconds
Date: Feb. 1, 2026

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