Rocket to bring Astronauts around the moon leaves New Orleans

NASA and Boeing this morning moved the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket core stage out of the assembly facility in New Orleans to load it onto the agency’s Pegasus barge.

"The stage is fully manufactured and assembled at Michoud," NASA's Lee Mohon posted. "SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration."

This rocket is en route to Cape Canaveral to power the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis campaign.

"The 212-foot core stage has two huge propellant tanks, avionics and flight computer systems, and four RS-25 engines."

Artemis II's mission is to bring Americans back to orbit the moon for the first time since Americans last landed on the lunar surface back in 1972 with Apollo 17.

"The rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch. Artemis II is currently scheduled for launch in September 2025."

The next SLS core stage under construction at Michoud will propel Artemis III.

"Artemis III... will mark humanity’s first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. NASA will make history by sending the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole."

The NASA plan also calls for a moon colony and later missions to Mars.