Artemis II FAQs: NASA's moonbound rocket rollout done, ‘wet dress rehearsal’ next

NASA trilled come out the Moonbound cynthia II skyrocket and ballistic capsule, achieving a "huge milestone" on Saturday, January 17. The rollout of the powerful Stacked Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft officially started around 7:04 am ET.

NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 carried the 11-million-pound stack at about one mile per hour along the four-mile route to Launch Pad 39B.

The rocket is now on its Launch Pad 39B, after around 12 hours of journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Here are quick Frequently Asked Questions about the Artemis II mission:

Artemis II is NASA's first mission with crew aboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

Artemis II is a follow-up of the uncrewed Artemis I mission and will be preceded by the Artemis III mission, which will be about landing Americans on the lunar surface.

NASA says Artemis II will pave the way for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The focus is on the Moon's South Pole.

"It will set the stage for future missions to land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there."

No, but the astronauts will venture around the Moon. The Artemis II crew will travel approximately 685,000 miles (~1.1 million km) from Earth, venture around the Moon, and return home.

The Artemis II astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

NASA’s powerful new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft nearly a quarter-million miles from Earth to lunar orbit.

It's expected to be a 10-day mission.

The earliest launch window for the Artemis II mission opens on February 6. NASA is expected to launch the mission by April. However, no launch date has been set so far.

It is NASA’s first human mission to the lunar south pole. Artemis II is a step towards NASA's aim to attempt astronauts' landing on 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."

As part of its Artemis programme, NASA aims to make history by sending the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole.

The earliest launch window for the Artemis II mission opens on February 6. NASA is expected to launch the mission by April. However, no launch date has been set so far.

Artemis I was an uncrewed mission, while Artemis II is a crewed mission.

In the coming days, engineers and technicians will prepare the Artemis II rocket for the "wet dress rehearsal". It's a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket. NASA explained that the "wet dress rehearsal" is a test of fueling operations and countdown procedures. It's likely to take place no earlier than February 2.

The team will load the rocket with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants, run through the countdown, and practice safely draining the propellants from the rocket – all essential steps before the first crewed Artemis mission.

---

---