From left: NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro, and Kennedy Deputy Director Kelvin Manning pose for a photo while touring the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Florida spaceport on July 28, 2021. While inside the VAB, they had the opportunity to view the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as preparations for the Artemis I launch continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

The Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, far left, and Christina Koch, as well as NASA astronaut Victor Glover and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, far right, and pose for a group photograph with employees from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Behind them is one of the aft assemblies, or bottom portions of the solid rocket boosters for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, which will be lifted atop mobile launcher 1 as the first booster segments stacked for the Artemis II Moon rocket.

From left, the Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, pose for a group photograph on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Behind them is the (SLS) Space Launch System core stage, which in the coming months will be prepared for integration atop mobile launcher 1 ahead of the Artemis II launch.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, left, along with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, right, pose for a group photograph with members of the Vehicle Assembly Building Operations Desk team on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Artemis II crew, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, left, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, as well as NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Victor Glover, pose for a group photograph with members of the agency’s Artemis II Landing and Recovery team and partners from the Department of Defense Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Jeremy Graeber, left, chief of the Test, Launch, and Recovery Operations Branch within the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, speaks with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson inside the Launch Control Center (LCC) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2021. During Nelson’s visit to Kennedy, he had the opportunity to tour the LCC and learn about the launch team as preparations for Artemis I continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch speaks with members of the agency’s Artemis II Landing and Recovery team and partners from the Department of Defense on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, during a visit by the Artemis II crew to the facility.

The Artemis II crew visits with employees from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson views the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building during a tour and visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2021, as preparations for the Artemis I launch continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participates in an interview inside the Vehicle Assembly Building during a tour and visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2021. In view in the background is the massive core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The next components to be stacked on top of the rocket are the Orion stage adapter and the spacecraft as preparations for Artemis I continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson tours the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) during a visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2021. While inside the VAB, he had the opportunity to view the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as preparations for the Artemis I launch continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, tours the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) during a visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2021. To his right is Mark Nappi, Boeing integrated product team leader for Space Launch System (SLS) core stage 1. While inside the VAB, Nelson had the opportunity to view the SLS rocket as preparations for the Artemis I launch continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

The Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, left, and Christina Koch, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman, right, view operations on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA and Kennedy Space Center leadership pose for a photo while touring the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Florida spaceport on July 28, 2021. From left are NASA Headquarters’ Casey Swails; Tori Thompson, STEM intern for protocol; NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana; NASA Administrator Bill Nelson; NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy; Kennedy Director Janet Petro; Kennedy Deputy Director Kelvin Manning; Mike Bolger, manager of NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program; and Executive Intern Peter Lyons. While inside the VAB, NASA senior leaders had the opportunity to view the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as preparations for the Artemis I launch continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, tours the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) during a visit to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2021. In the center is Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator and former director of Kennedy, and to the right is Susie Perez Quinn, NASA chief of staff. While inside the VAB, Nelson had the opportunity to view the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as preparations for the Artemis I launch continue. The first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon.

Seen here is an exterior view of the Launch Control Center (LCC) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, located next to the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, on July 8, 2021. The LCC will house the team of engineers responsible for launching the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission. On July 8, teams from Kennedy, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, and Johnson Space Center in Houston came together to perform the first joint integrated launch countdown simulation for Artemis I. The training exercise involved rehearsing all aspects of the launch countdown, from cryogenic loading – filling tanks in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen – to liftoff. These simulations will help certify that the launch team is ready for Artemis I – the first test flight of SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.