Artemis II is preparing for launch from the Kennedy Space Center, where the rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft for a second time, this time with a crew on its journey to the moon.

Advocates for space science research are concerned about job losses and cuts to funding at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

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.

The first human spaceflight to the vicinity of the Moon since December 1972 is set to roll out to Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. The Orion spacecraft and its associated Space Launch System rocket,

While Artemis II won't touch down on the lunar terrain - NASA targets putting astronauts on the surface by 2030, though China competes to arrive first - it will journey 6,400 miles beyond the Moon's far side: the most distant humans have ever ventured into the cosmos.