NASA Wraps Up Dress Rehearsal for First Moon Flight in 53 Years
Initially scheduled for late November, the intricate simulation underwent multiple pauses and restarts Saturday, based on NASA's countdown clock. The space agency offered no specifics regarding complications encountered, though Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman characterized the rehearsal as broadly successful.
Artemis 2 will represent the inaugural crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, propelling Wiseman and fellow crew members beyond Earth farther than any humans have previously traveled. The expedition will establish groundwork for Artemis 3, which NASA anticipates will deliver astronauts near the Moon's south pole in 2028.
Wiseman characterized the simulation as an "Extremely successful day in our spacecraft #Integrity," in a post on US social media platform X. "Did everything go perfectly? Absolutely not," Wiseman stated, noting the team demonstrated they were "up to the challenge," and that launch "is getting very close."
The mission is provisionally scheduled for early February, though the compressed timeframe may shift liftoff to early March. A definitive determination isn't anticipated until after the new year begins, media reported.
Throughout the simulation, Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen wore orange pressure suits and secured themselves into Orion following launch-day protocols, boarding the spacecraft mounted atop NASA's SLS rocket within the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.
Following liftoff, Orion and its crew will complete approximately 25 hours in an elliptical Earth orbit testing life support, propulsion and navigation systems. Unlike the uncrewed Artemis 1 flight in November 2022, which lacked comprehensive life-support capabilities, Artemis 2 will subsequently proceed on a "free return" trajectory around the Moon before Pacific Ocean splashdown, bypassing lunar orbit entry.
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