The goal of the Artemis program is to eventually send Americans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with the longer term goal of achieving missions to Mars. The launch of Artemis II follows the original Artemis launch, which sent a crewless craft into space in 2022.

On Saturday, Jan. 17 at 7 a.m., NASA will conduct a rollout mission – transporting an 11-million-pound stack four miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Station. The journey will take up to 12 hours, NASA said.