BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – The mission is a year away, but preparations continue toward launching astronauts deeper into space than any crew in more than 50 years.
Wednesday, NASA’s crawler transporter began moving the mobile launch tower for the Artemis II mission ahead of critical testing, including that of the escape system.
Similar to the system built for the space shuttle program, the Artemis II crew would also evacuate the pad if there’s an emergency on launch day.
As News 6 reported last week, NASA has to connect zip lines to the mobile launcher when it arrives at the pad.
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NASA said the mobile launcher contains all of the connection lines that will provide the rocket and capsule with the power and communications it needs in order to launch.
“How much effort it takes to actually go to the moon and come back alive and the number of people who are involved in that. I’m super impressed,” Artemis II mission specialist Jeremy Hansen said.
As NASA prepares to test the mobile launcher, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Hansen are continuing their crew training.
Last week, News 6 got to ask the crew about their ten-day mission flying around the moon in this capsule as soon as November 2024.
“I’m excited that it’s going to lead to an Artemis campaign that’s going to put people back on the moon,” Koch said. “We’re going to take what we learned there and go on to Mars.”
With a top speed of just 1 mph and with stops planned along the way, NASA said the mobile launcher will continue its roll to the pad on Thursday.
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