NASA's Artemis II Moon Rocket Rolls Out This Weekend

Four astronauts are about to watch their ride to the Moon roll out of the garage, and the whole world gets to come along for the journey.

NASA will begin moving its fully assembled Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, January 17. The move marks a major milestone for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972.

The rocket stack weighs 11 million pounds and will crawl along at just one mile per hour. The four-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad will take up to 12 hours, giving fans plenty of time to tune into NASA's live feed starting at 7 a.m. EST.

The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, plus Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Glover will become the first person of color to travel to the Moon, while Koch will be the first woman to make the journey.

After rollout, NASA will spend the coming weeks completing final preparations and conducting a wet dress rehearsal. This critical test simulates launch day operations, including fueling the rocket while the crew practices their procedures.

The launch window opens as early as February 6, though NASA's mission management team will confirm the exact date after completing all readiness checks. The astronauts won't land on the Moon during this mission. Instead, they'll fly around it to test all systems before future Artemis missions establish a lasting presence on the lunar surface.

Why This Inspires

This mission represents more than a return to the Moon. It's proof that decades of work by thousands of engineers, scientists, and dreamers is paying off.

The Artemis program will use the Moon as a proving ground for the technologies and skills needed to send humans to Mars. Every test, every rollout, every successful milestone brings that once-impossible goal closer to reality.

And this time, the journey includes everyone. The diverse crew reflects NASA's commitment to making space exploration truly represent all of humanity.

The slow roll to the launch pad this weekend is just the beginning of an adventure that will inspire a new generation to look up and dream big.