This Jan. 17, 2026, image shows NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s massive Crawler-Transporter, upgraded for the Artemis program, carries the powerful SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B in preparation for the Artemis II mission.
Moving at a maximum speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler carried the towering Moon rocket and spacecraft slowly but surely toward the pad, reaching its destination at 6:42 p.m. EST after a nearly 12-hour journey. The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back. It is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions to the Moon’s surface, leading to a sustained presence on the Moon that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.
See more photos from the rollout.
Image credit: NASA/Sam Lott
2026年1月17日拍摄的这张图像展示了NASA的太空发射系统（SLS）及猎户座飞船正从佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心的车辆组装大楼缓缓驶出。为阿尔忒弥斯计划升级后的NASA巨型履带运输车将强大的SLS火箭和猎户座飞船运往39B发射台，为阿尔忒弥斯2号任务做准备。
履带运输车的最高速度仅为每小时0.82英里，在近12小时的行程中稳步前行，于美国东部时间下午6点42分抵达发射台。阿尔忒弥斯2号试飞任务将把NASA宇航员里德·怀斯曼（Reid Wiseman）、维克托·格洛弗（Victor Glover）、克里斯蒂娜·科赫（Christina Koch）以及加拿大航天局宇航员杰里米·汉森（Jeremy Hansen）送上一次约10天的绕月飞行并返回地球。这是美国载人重返月球的重要一步，迈向在月球表面建立长期存在，并为未来把首批美国宇航员送往火星做好准备。
图片来源: NASA/Sam Lott
