Artemis 2 astronauts preparing for a lunar mission inspected the powerful SLS core stage, reflecting NASA's ongoing efforts to return to and explore the moon. On November 16, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen watched the core stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at the Michoud Assembly Plant in New Orleans.
NASA and CSA astronauts inspected the core stage of the Space Launch System, which is critical to the upcoming Artemis II mission. The visit marks one year since the Artemis 1 mission and highlights NASA's commitment to lunar exploration and diversity in space. Image source: NASA/MichaelDeMocker
Together with Victor Glover of NASA, these three astronauts will fly around the moon on Artemis II launched from the rocket launch pad. This is the first manned flight of Artemis.
The SLS core stage is 212 feet tall and is the backbone of the moon landing rocket. It includes two huge propellant tanks holding a total of 733,000 gallons of propellant to power the stage's four RS-25 engines.
NASA, core stage prime contractor Boeing and L3Harris Technologies' Aerojet Rocketdyne and RS-25 engine prime contractor are conducting final comprehensive testing of the fully assembled rocket stage.
During launch and liftoff, Artemis astronauts inside NASA's Orion spacecraft will feel the power of the rocket's four RS-25 engines, which deliver more than 2 million pounds of thrust for a full eight minutes. The giant rocket's twin solid rocket boosters, located on either side of the core stage, will each provide an additional 3.6 million pounds of thrust for two minutes.
NASA's Space Launch System rockets will give us the ability to carry out bold missions in deep space, and we'll need the largest rocket stages ever built. This infographic summarizes everything you need to know about the SLS core stage, the 212-foot-tall core stage that is the backbone of the world's most powerful rocket. The core stage includes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks and can hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to provide the stage's four RS-25 engines with the power needed to lift off and travel to Mars. Source: NASA/MSFC
The astronauts' visit to Michoud coincides with the first anniversary of the launch of Artemis 1. Artemis 1, an unmanned flight test of SLS and Orion, is the first in a series of increasingly complex Artemis missions as NASA works to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a long-term presence there for discovery and exploration.
At NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, three members of the Artemis II crew, made up of astronauts from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), inspect the SLS core stage, a critical structure for their upcoming journey to the moon. Image source: NASA/MichaelDeMocker
NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon aboard Artemis. SLS is NASA's backbone of deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in lunar orbit, and the commercial crew landing system. SLS is the only rocket capable of sending Orion, astronauts and supplies to the moon in a single mission.