The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has completed another critical phase of humanity’s return to the Moon. Preparations for the Orion spacecraft for Artemis 2, the first crewed mission to the Moon in decades, have concluded.

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission is imminent

The Orion crew capsule, fueled at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has been moved from the Multiple Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) to the Emergency Launch System Facility (LASF). This move is considered a significant step in the series of crewed flights in NASA’s Artemis program.

Artemis 2 will carry four astronauts on a 10-day orbit around the Moon. This historic mission will take place as early as February 2026 and as late as April 2026. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will be on board. This crew will be the first humans to travel to lunar orbit since the Apollo program in 1972.

The Orion capsule has undergone extensive systems checks in recent months. The Artemis 2 crew also participated in their first suit tests inside the capsule. The astronauts donned the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) spacesuits they will wear on launch day and connected to life support and communications systems.

The 13.4-meter-long emergency launch system for Orion, which has been transported to LASF, is now being installed. This system is designed to safely remove Orion from the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in the event of an emergency. Once the emergency launch system is complete, Orion and the entire system will be transported to the assembly building for final assembly onto the SLS rocket.

Artemis 2 will be Orion’s first crewed mission. This mission represents a critical step toward NASA’s goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Previously, the Artemis 1 mission successfully launched and returned an unmanned Orion to lunar orbit. NASA plans to land astronauts on the lunar surface with Artemis 3 in 2027.