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The Artemis II mission will embark on its journey around the Moon early next year — and now we’ve got the mission patch to mark the occasion.

The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.

Credit: NASA
Patch Designer: Greg Manchess

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NASA, "Marshall Space Flight Center", MSFC, rocket, space, Artemis, "Space Launch System", Moon2Mars, Artemis, "Artemis II",

A massive crane lifts the launch vehicle stage adapter 250 feet into the air on Thursday, April 3, 2025, to prepare integration onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
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A massive crane lowers the launch vehicle stage adapter onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.

A massive crane lowers the launch vehicle stage adapter onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.

A massive crane lifts the launch vehicle stage adapter 250 feet into the air on Thursday, April 3, 2025, to prepare integration onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.

Technicians at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center recently moved the completed launch vehicle stage adapter for NASA's Space Launch System for Artemis III to a new facility on center where it will remain until it is time to ship the hardware to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The cone-shaped hardware connects the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to the upper stage, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, and protects the rocket’s flight computers, avionics, and electrical devices during launch and ascent during the Artemis missions.

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Another element of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for Artemis II is poised for flight. Technicians joined the core stage March 23 with the stacked solid rocket boosters for the mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program and primary contractor Amentum used one of the five overhead cranes inside the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building to lift the rocket stage from the facility’s transfer aisle to High Bay 3, where it was secured between the booster segments atop the launch tower.

In thi image, Artemis II Core Stage is lifted into High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, March 23, 2025.

Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

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Technicians at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have been busy welding and working on the liquid oxygen forward dome for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) Structural Test Article (STA) in preparation for its next move.
Both the forward and aft domes will soon be shipped to NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where they will be welded to the EUS liquid oxygen barrel section.

Learn more about the EUS designed to power NASA Artemis missions beginning with Artemis IV!

Credit: NASA

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Technicians from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems use massive cranes inside the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to lift the fully assembled SLS (Space Launch System) core stage vertically 225 feet above the ground from High Bay 2 to a horizontal position in the facility’s transfer aisle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 14, 2025. The 212-foot core stage will undergo final checkouts before being lifted into the VAB’s High Bay 3 for integration alongside the completed stack of twin solid rocket booster segments.

Next year, the Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – around the Moon. The mission is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.

Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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Over the weekend, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for the NASA Artemis II mission was transported from United Launch Alliance’s Delta Operations Center in Cape Canaveral to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Next, NASA's Exploration Ground Systems technicians will fuel the SLS upper stage before transporting it to the center’s Vehicle Assembly Building for integration with the SLS rocket elements atop mobile launcher 1.

NASA's Space Launch System ICPS was built at the ULA facility in Decatur, Alabama, near NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Credit: United Launch Alliance

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The Orion spacecraft for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, is now equipped with its powerful solar wings. Built and attached by European engineers, these four, seven-metre-long solar arrays are attached to ESA's European Service Module, rotating to absorb the most sunlight and provide essential power to Orion and its crew as they travel to the Moon and back.

The solar arrays were manufactured by engineers at Airbus in the Netherlands and were sent to the United States in 2023. Since then, they have been through rigorous testing, including an acoustic test that simulates the intense vibrations at launch. Last week, engineers from Airbus installed the four solar arrays at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They carefully secured each wing with 16 hold-down mechanisms to ensure stability during launch; once in orbit, an electrical current will trigger deployment, allowing the panels to unfold automatically.

With the solar wings now installed, the next step is to add protective fairing panels around the European Service Module. Once Orion reaches space, these panels will detach, and the solar arrays will unfold to greet the Sun's light, powering the spacecraft.

Learn more about the intricate solar array installation process on our blog.

Credits: Lockheed Martin

NASA marked a key milestone Feb. 18 with installation of RS-25 engine No. E20001, the first new production engine to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon.

The engine, built by lead SLS engines contractor L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne), was installed on the Fred Haise Test Stand in preparation for acceptance testing next month. It represents the first of 24 new flight engines being built for SLS flights, beginning with Artemis V.

In this image, teams at NASA Stennis deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.

Credit: NASA/Danny Nowlin

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Engineers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems complete stacking operations on the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters for Artemis II by integrating the nose cones atop the forward assemblies inside the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. During three months of stacking operations, technicians used a massive overhead crane to lift 10 booster segments – five segments per booster – and aerodynamic nose cones into place on mobile launcher 1. The twin solid boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket and provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B.

Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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The core stage of the model is complete.

Finally got all the parts to start building this IRL.

NASA’s Artemis campaign will send astronauts, payloads, and science experiments into deep space on NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) super heavy-lift Moon rocket. Starting with Artemis IV, the Orion spacecraft and its astronauts will be joined by other payloads atop an upgraded version of the SLS, called Block 1B. SLS Block 1B will deliver initial elements of a lunar space station designed to enable long term exploration of the lunar surface and pave the way for future journeys to Mars. To fly these advanced payloads, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are building a cone-shaped adapter that is key to SLS Block 1B.

The payload adapter, nestled within the universal stage adapter sitting atop the SLS Block 1B's exploration upper stage, acts as a connecting point to secure a large payload that is co-manifested -- or flying along with -- the Orion spacecraft. The adapter consists of eight composite panels with an aluminum honeycomb core and two aluminum rings.

In this image, the PLA engineering development unit is installed into the 4697-test stand at NASA Marshall for structural testing. It was then attached to the large cylindrical structure which simulates the Exploration Upper Stage interface. Load lines were then connected to the top of the PLA. The testing demonstrated that it can handle up to three times the expected load.

Credit: NASA/Samuel Lott

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New Orleans is home to our NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, but it's also home to thousands of football fans from across the nation this weekend. 🏈

We welcome you all to NOLA with this stunning photo taken by one of our Michoud photographers last month of the Wolf Moon rising over the Superdome.

: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Download this image for yourself at images.nasa.gov

Teams lifted the left center segment, bearing NASA’s historic “worm” logo, of the Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters for the Artemis II mission into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

This is the seventh of 10 motor segments stacked on mobile launcher 1 by the Exploration Ground Systems team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

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Engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program integrate the right forward center segment onto mobile launcher 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. The boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket and provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS (Space Launch System) thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B

Credits: NASA

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Last week, NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team transported the forward assemblies of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters in preparation for the Artemis II mission. These are the final pieces of the boosters to stack on mobile launcher 1 and will signify the completion of booster assembly at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Credits: NASA

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