Artemis II Crew Rehearse Launch Day Demonstration
The four astronauts scheduled to fly around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II test flight depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a dress rehearsal for launch day, Dec. 20, 2025. From left: CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch.
The launch day rehearsal, called the Countdown Demonstration Test, simulated the launch day timeline, including the crew donning their spacesuits and boarding and exiting their Orion spacecraft. Because the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket they will launch on is not yet on the launch pad, the crew boarded Orion inside the Kennedy Vehicle Assembly Building, where engineers are making final preparations on the spacecraft, rocket and ground systems.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit, and lay the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Photo credit: NASA/Jim Ross
