Space travel Rocket system rolled onto launch pad for moon mission
The US space agency Nasa has moved the rocket system for "Artemis 2" to the launch site. For the first time in more than half a century, humans are to fly close to the moon again this year.
18.01.2026, 03:21
SDA
With the help of a kind of transport carriage, the approximately 100-metre-high system - consisting of the "Space Launch System" rocket and the "Orion" capsule - was driven out of the workshop at the Cape Canaveral spaceport and slowly brought the approximately six kilometers to the launch site in an operation lasting around twelve hours.
"This is the beginning of a very long journey," said Nasa CEO Jared Isaacman at a press conference. With the "Artemis 2" mission, humans are to fly close to the moon again this year for the first time in more than half a century. US astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman and their Canadian colleague Jeremy Hansen are to orbit the moon during the ten-day mission. The last time US astronauts were on the moon was in 1972.
The earliest possible launch date for "Artemis 2" is the beginning of February. An unmanned ground test is planned for the end of January. During the so-called "wet dress rehearsal", all procedures are tested apart from the actual launch.
