CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is moving closer to setting a launch date for Artemis II as teams carry out a key countdown rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the mission’s planned flight around the moon.
The wet dress rehearsal is designed to simulate major launch operations, including loading cryogenic propellants into the Space Launch System rocket, running a full countdown sequence and practising procedures used if a launch must be scrubbed. Officials say the test will help confirm the launch team’s readiness and support planning for a potential launch window in March.
Teams in Florida and at mission control in Houston are taking part in the exercise, which also includes practising countdown holds, recycling the clock and draining fuel tanks at the end of the simulation.
Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed mission around the moon since the Apollo era. The flight is also set to make history for Canada, as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will become the first Canadian to leave low Earth orbit and travel toward the moon as part of the four member crew.
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