NASA to unveil last piece of hardware for the Artemis II Orion mission

Written by Copernical Team Thursday, 14 August 2025 06:51

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Washington DC (UPI) Aug 12, 2025

NASA is ready to show off its final piece of space flight hardware for the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission. NASA has invited media to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to see the piece. The rest of the SLS rocket for Artemis II is stacked on mobile launcher 1 at Kennedy. Artemis II, NASA's first mission with crew aboard the Orion spacecra

NASA to unveil last piece of hardware for the Artemis II Orion mission
by Lisa Hornung
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 12, 2025

NASA is ready to show off its final piece of space flight hardware for the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission.

NASA has invited media to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to see the piece.

The rest of the SLS rocket for Artemis II is stacked on mobile launcher 1 at Kennedy. Artemis II, NASA's first mission with crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, is scheduled for a 10-day trip around the moon in April 2026.

The Orion stage adapter, built by NASA Marshall, connects the SLS rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA's Orion spacecraft. The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket. The adapter will also carry small payloads, called CubeSats, to deep space.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars, NASA said.

That lunar flyby mission carrying four astronauts is set for launch in April 2026. It's a flight test mission that will pave the way for landing the first woman and the next man on the moon.

Onboard will be Commader Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman, Glover and Koch are NASA astronauts. Hansen is from the Canadian Space Agency.

According to Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin, Artemis II builds on the uncrewed Artemis I flight test.

"This mission will prove Orion's critical life support systems are ready to sustain our astronauts on longer duration missions ahead and allow the crew to practice operations essential to the success of Artemis III," Sarafin said in a statement.