Cape Canaveral, Florida.– NASA’s new giant Moon rocket for the Artemis II mission rolled out to the launch pad on Saturday at Kennedy Space Center, marking a critical milestone ahead of the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

The massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, standing 322 feet (98 meters) tall and weighing 11 million pounds (5 million kilograms), began its slow journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building at daybreak. Traveling at just 1 mph (1.6 kph), the four-mile trek to the launch pad lasted until nightfall.

The mission, which could lift off as early as February, will send four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a lunar fly-around and return to Earth, reviving human deep-space exploration after decades.

A milestone moment for NASA and Artemis

Thousands of NASA workers and their families gathered before dawn to witness the long-anticipated rollout, delayed for years due to technical challenges. The crowd, led by NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman and the four Artemis II astronauts, cheered as the rocket emerged from the historic assembly building originally constructed in the 1960s for the Saturn V rockets of the Apollo era.

“What a great day to be here,” said Reid Wiseman, Artemis II mission commander. “It is awe-inspiring.”

The rocket was transported on a massive crawler originally used during the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, later upgraded to handle the increased weight of the SLS.

From uncrewed test to astronauts aboard

The Artemis II mission follows the successful Artemis I flight in November 2022, which sent an uncrewed Orion capsule into orbit around the Moon. However, that test flight revealed heat-shield damage and other capsule issues, prompting extensive analyses and additional testing that delayed the first crewed mission until now.

“This one feels a lot different, putting crew on the rocket and taking the crew around the Moon,” said John Honeycutt, NASA’s SLS program manager.

The upcoming mission will not orbit or land on the Moon. Those objectives are planned for Artemis III, scheduled for later this decade, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo.

Artemis II represents a crucial step in NASA’s long-term strategy to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and eventually enable future missions to Mars.