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NASA's next moon rocket casts a striking silhouette against the rising sun in this photo taken just a week prior to the agency's impending Artemis 2 mission, currently scheduled for April 1.
What is it?
This photo shows the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft standing upright at the historic Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
SLS rolled back out to the launch pad on March 20 after being brought in to NASA's massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for repairs. Mission teams have secured the rocket's mobile launcher to infrastructure at the pad, connected power and communications linkages and installed the crew's emergency egress system. The tower's crew access arm, through which the four Artemis 2 astronauts will walk to enter the rocket, has been extended to allow them to access their Orion spacecraft.
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Why is it amazing?
After years of planning, training and multiple delays, NASA says it's finally ready to launch Artemis 2 on a journey around the moon and back.
"Our flight systems are ready, the ground systems are ready, our launch and operations teams are ready, and our flight operations team in Houston are also ready," Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said during a mission status update on Sunday (March 29).
The four Artemis 2 astronauts — NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — arrived at KSC on Friday (March 27).
If all goes according to plan, Artemis 2 will launch on April 1 at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 GMT). NASA has additional launch dates available through April 6, should this attempt be delayed.
Follow along with our Artemis 2 mission live updates page for the latest developments.
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