Nasa readies its most powerful rocket for round-the-moon flight

January 17, 2026

TL;DR

Artemis II mission aims to send astronauts on a round trip around the moon, the first such mission in over 50 years.
The mission is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as February 6th.
It will be the second test of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the first with a crew onboard.
The four astronauts will test life support and communications systems and practice docking maneuvers in the Orion capsule.
Christina Koch will be the first woman, and Victor Glover the first person of color, to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
The mission will not land on the moon but will travel around it, preceding Artemis III which plans to land astronauts near the lunar south pole.
The SLS rocket and Orion capsule are nearly 100 meters tall.
Pre-launch preparations include rolling the rocket to the launchpad and conducting a wet dress rehearsal with propellant loading and a trial countdown.
Recent technical issues include a bent cable in the flight termination system, a faulty valve, and leaks in oxygen pumping equipment.
The crew will loop around Earth twice before heading to the moon, manually flying the spacecraft to test its handling.
The astronauts will travel over 230,000 miles from Earth, pass around the far side of the moon, and test Orion's radiation shelter.

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