KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A major part of NASA’s Artemis III mission is heading to Florida from its factory in New Orleans.
The core stage for the Space Launch System rocket is being moved from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.
This is the main fuel tank for the mission’s rocket, and also contains the computer that will communicate with the rest of the vehicle.
The big move comes as NASA is still celebrating the recent success of the Artemis II mission around the moon.
Artemis III is designed to test the systems needed to land astronauts on the moon.
However, instead of landing on the moon, the mission will take place in low-Earth orbit, where astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will perform test docking with lunar landers.
Artemis III is expected to launch next year.
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