NASA’s Artemis program might actually launch Artemis II in the next few weeks. The agency has rolled its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and its Orion capsule payload onto the tarmac in preparation for takeoff. Since Artemis 1 lifted off in 2022, it’s probably time to send the next mission.

Provided this new (manned) rocket passes all of its system checks and the upcoming wet dress rehearsals, at any rate. Should all go as expected, and NASA will be extra careful with a crew sitting on top of the massive explosive, Artemis II will be dispatched on a 10-day round trip that will circle the moon before heading back.

Artemis II: Lunar Boogaloo

The mission is notable because it’s the first manned flight attempted since Apollo 17 in 1972. Even this will be just a stepping stone in the Artemis program, “another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.”

The soonest the manned mission will take place is 6 February, so having the rocket on the launchpad — a 6.4km trip that took more than twelve hours — doesn’t mean that the burners will definitely ignite in the coming weeks. The aforementioned wet dress rehearsal, which should happen before 2 February and will see NASA “load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket”, has to be cleared first.

Further tests might also be run, with the SLS rocket possibly being stashed in its warehouse again. But, if all goes well, it’s now sitting in place for what will be the first manned lunar mission in over fifty years.