CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WWSB) – NASA’s Artemis II rocket is now positioned on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center as the space agency prepares for its first crewed mission to the moon in more than five decades.
On Jan. 17, NASA rolled the Artemis II rocket out to launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The move took about 12 hours to travel just over four miles at about one mile per hour.
The fully stacked rocket, spacecraft and launcher weigh about 11 million pounds.
Artemis II is a government-led effort by the United States to return humans to the moon. The mission will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby, looping around the moon and back to Earth.
It’s the first crewed mission to the moon since Apollo 17 more than 50 years ago.
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While the astronauts won’t land on the moon in this mission, it is considered a high-value flight test that proves NASA can safely get humans to lunar orbit and back. The mission serves as the essential final step before Artemis III puts astronauts on the moon’s surface about a year later, with Mars as the next target.
Before liftoff, NASA has one final test scheduled. The wet dress rehearsal is set for Feb. 2, when crews will load 750,000 gallons of super-cold fuel into the tanks to ensure everything is leak-proof and ready for launch.
NASA is targeting no earlier than Feb. 6 for a nighttime launch. However, Florida weather could affect the timeline.
Strong winds, lightning or heavy clouds can trigger an automatic scrub, sometimes at the last second.
The launch will be visible from hundreds of miles away, making it viewable from across Florida.
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