There is a time when a space mission stops being just a project and instead becomes actual hardware waiting on a launch pad. For the Artemis II mission, that time has now arrived. On January 17th, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft was moved to Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in a slow-moving procedure that took 12 hours to travel just 6.5 kilometers. However, it is not quite time for liftoff yet. In fact, the launch date has not been fully confirmed, because first, it must be demonstrated that everything designed for the mission during the last several years is working correctly.

The plan is for the liftoff to take place no earlier than February 8th, 2026, with a crew of four astronauts on board. However, the actual launch date will depend upon the results of the Wet Dress Rehearsal that has now been initiated. In other words, everything that will happen later is conditioned upon the test results for procedures such as loading the cryogenic propellants, executing a full countdown, and practicing removal of propellant from the rocket without the crew on board. That countdown will be stopped just before the simulated liftoff. If anything goes wrong during this testing stage, the rocket might be taken back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work, which would have an impact on the scheduling.

During this Wet Dress Rehearsal, work on the launch complex is being performed in parallel. The teams have already hooked up purge lines, established communications with the Launch Control Center, tested the crew access arm, and connected the emergency evacuation system. They have also powered up the Orion spacecraft and various elements of the SLS, to confirm their proper functioning in the launch environment. Although technical tasks like these are not the most visible ones, they are still essential.

A flight profile that only looks simple

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen are getting ready to undertake a flight with a profile that looks fairly simple on paper: two orbits of the Earth, then interim propulsion with a trans‑lunar injection, a flyby of the far side of the Moon at a distance of 7,400 kilometers, and a return home powered by the force of gravity. A 10‑day mission, with no lunar landing. Although this might sound simple enough, the level of technical complexity is actually very high.

The first orbit will be elliptical, at an altitude of between 185 and 2,250 kilometers. This will provide a period of 90 minutes to confirm that the Orion spacecraft is responding correctly. The second orbit will take the astronauts up to an altitude of 74,000 kilometers, where they will fly for about 23.5 hours at a height beyond what any human has experienced for more than 50 years. During that time period, it will have to be confirmed that the life support systems are operating properly under all conditions: when the crew members are exercising and their metabolism is spiking, and also when they are sleeping and the system operates at minimum levels. At these times there are significant differences in their metabolic load, and the system must be able to function in all cases.

At some point during that second orbit, Orion will move beyond the range of GPS and the tracking and data relay satellites (TDRS). The spacecraft’s communications with Houston will then have to rely upon the Deep Space Network. This must be verified early in the flight, because if anything is not working, it will not make sense to continue towards the Moon.

Manual maneuvers without a network

The crew will take control of the Orion spacecraft after it separates from the rocket, and they will then use the detached rocket system as a target for practicing approach maneuvers. The control center in Houston will also perform monitoring while the astronauts are piloting the spacecraft, testing its responses, and evaluating its movements. This exercise actually has a critical purpose, because the next mission, Artemis III, will require docking with the Starship HLS lunar lander while in lunar orbit. On the Artemis II mission, the astronauts will be performing these maneuvers with no GPS or other reliable positioning network. They need to feel how the spacecraft responds, and calibrate their own judgment against what can be seen from the cameras and windows. This type of knowledge is impossible to gain with simulators back on Earth, which is why the Artemis I and Artemis II missions are an essential part of developing a stable human presence on the Moon and beyond.

These operations for docking in lunar orbit are some of the most technically complex in the entire program, and the aim is to make them more manageable in the future. The European Space Agency (ESA) is developing specific navigation systems for the lunar environment, such as Moonlight, as well as a low Earth orbit positioning, navigation, and timing (LEO‑PNT) satellite constellation known as Celeste, which will supplement Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS) by improving the precision and robustness of its signals. GMV is participating in the Moonlight program, while also leading one of the two industry consortiums that are developing the technology for Celeste, with launching of the first demonstrator satellite planned for later in 2026. Once these systems become operational, future docking maneuvers will not be so reliant upon human judgment in high-pressure situations. However, the Artemis II astronauts will be practicing these maneuvers manually.

Christina Koch will become the first woman to orbit the Moon, and Victor Glover will be the first African-American. Jeremy Hansen will be representing Canada, which has been a partner in the U.S. space programs since the Space Shuttle era. The composition of the crew also reflects the program’s emphasis on international collaborations. Through ESA, Europe is contributing the complete service module: propulsion, energy, and life support. Canada is contributing advanced robotics systems, and Japan is developing habitable modules and pressurized rovers. With the Artemis program, critical capabilities are being distributed among partners who must rely upon each other, because none of them could complete the entire program alone.

GMV’s contribution: hardware, software, and people

With deep space missions, the operations and software are just as important as the visible hardware. GMV is participating in Artemis II from various angles, to cover aspects that rarely appear in news stories, but which are essential for ensuring that the mission’s operations will perform under pressure.

Firstly, the company has been working on the engineering for the systems and subsystems of the European service module, in collaboration with the German Aerosapce Center (DLR). GMV is also involved in the supply of more than 20,000 liters of propellant, solar panels that generate enough electricity to power two homes, and thermal control systems that keep components operational while one side is exposed to the sun and the other remains in the shade. Every requirement counts, and every interface matters.

Secondly, GMV has developed an Anomaly Reporting Tool specifically for Artemis II. If something goes wrong during a crewed flight, the response time is measured in minutes. The controllers need to understand the nature of the problem, which systems are affected, and what options may be possible, and they have to quickly and clearly communicate this information to the crew. A well‑designed tool can make the difference between a manageable incident and a critical emergency.

Thirdly, GMV was responsible for the Operations Support Tools that the control team will be using throughout the mission, for dynamic planning, resource management, coordination between flight segments, and monitoring of margins. For example, if something unexpected starts to happen when Orion is four days of flight away, these tools will act as the eyes and hands of the team in Houston that is trying to solve the problem.

Fourthly, personnel from GMV will be members of the team performing ground control in real time. In other words, they will be in the room when critical decisions are being made under pressure, in scenarios where the data is not conforming with the expectations, or a procedure is not working correctly, or when there is a need to improvise within narrow margins. All of this operational experience will also translate directly into better designs and procedures for subsequent missions.

Fifthly, GMV’s training team traveled to Houston to give the astronauts instructions about how to use EveryWear, which is the only ESA payload traveling on the Artemis II mission, and they were certified to provide real-time operational support. This training had to ensure that the astronauts understood how the hardware works, and also how to use it when they are under stress, and wearing gloves, with multiple procedures competing for their attention. The certification for real-time support means that these persons can be relied upon to solve problems even when no reference manual exists.

The next mission will have additional requirements

Artemis II is considered to be a verification flight, not a direct exploration mission, with a flight plan that includes orbits around the Earth, interim propulsion with a trans-lunar injection, and a lunar flyby without a landing. This will make it possible to confirm that the Orion spacecraft can sustain a crew in deep space, while also validating the life support systems and testing the communication and navigation systems with support from the Deep Space Network. After all this, it will be time to move on to the Artemis III mission.

Artemis III will require a different set of capabilities, such as precise information about safe landing sites at the lunar south pole. These decisions require information sources other than just low‑resolution orbital images, like geotechnical characterization of the Moon’s regolith, meter-scale illumination models, and maps of water resources in permanently shadowed craters. Artemis III will also need prospecting rovers, in‑situ resource utilization (ISRU) systems that can extract water from the lunar soil and convert it into propellant, and power plants that can operate during the long polar nights. Each of these elements will require complex operations, coordination between the autonomous and crewed systems, and in‑situ resource management under extreme conditions.

The lessons learned during Artemis II will also benefit Gateway, which is the space station in lunar orbit planned for later missions, and this mission will also establish critical precedents for international collaboration, to develop permanent lunar bases, infrastructure on the Moon, and even missions to Mars. More than 50 countries have now signed the Artemis Accords, which is happening because there are tangible demonstrations that the collaborations are working, that the interfaces are clear, and that the commitments are being fulfilled.

The tools and expertise that are now being developed for Artemis II will serve as the foundations for building even more ambitious capabilities. Artemis is not Apollo: the program is not just about landing, planting a flag, and returning. Instead, the aim is to establish a sustainable presence.

The decisive testing

The Wet Dress Rehearsal will determine whether everything learned during the Artemis I mission, with its hydrogen leaks, problems with the cryogenic loading process, and procedural revisions, has made it possible to develop a system that is ready to carry a crew on board. The launch window opens on February 6th, but that date still depends upon whether this testing confirms the relevant expectations. It also depends upon some external factors: whether the position of the Moon will support the planned trajectory, and the safety requirements that will make Orion’s re‑entry possible, within very specific margins to protect the heat shield.

The need for caution cannot be overstated. Artemis II is the program’s first crewed mission, and it comes after a long period of development marked by technical revisions and scheduling changes. The purpose of this mission is to confirm that the adjustments made are working in a consistent manner, on a spacecraft designed to carry astronauts.

It has been 54 years since any humans have traveled into space beyond low Earth orbit, which last occurred in 1972 on the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17. Artemis II is about to change that. And even though the flight profile does not include a lunar landing, the mission will demonstrate that we know how to return to deep space, and that we can do it in a sustainable way, this time with the intention to stay.

Author: Cristina Luna