Artemis II mission: What's on the schedule in the final week of January

With the historic crewed lunar flyby of Artemis II fast approaching, it is quite obvious that NASA has its hands full in preparation for one of the most powerful crewed rocket launches in history. The 322-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) was rolled into place on January 17, 2026, after a 4.2-mile steady journey from the Vehicle Assembly building to Launchpad 39B of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Ever since, there have been plenty of activities in a long line of coordinated efforts for a successful mission going on at the launch site and across many ground-based teams’ locations. Let us take a closer look at them and know what is next at the top of NASA’s agenda for the last week of January. 

Should all go to the NASA plan, Saturday, January 31, 2026, could mark the day the wet dress rehearsal takes place, followed by a simulated launch at 9 PM EST. This event is key to determining if the actual Artemis II launch will happen on or after February 6, 2026. The wet dress rehearsal will involve loading over 700,000 gallons of super-cold cryogenic propellants made up of liquid hydrogen and oxygen into the SLS rocket. This is so that launch teams can practice running countdowns to a minute and 30 seconds before lift off, execute holds and scrubs. They will then safely drain the fuel.

Special teams, called closeout crews, who secure Orion’s hatches before launch, will also go over their routines without the crew of astronauts onboard. Many of the procedures undertaken during Artemis I wet dress rehearsal back in 2022 will be improved upon, keeping in mind the presence of the crew onboard, such as the environmental control systems for the Orion capsule. 

Exactly a week prior to this, on January 24, 2026, Launchpad 39B’s perimeter was cleared of staff who weren't working on the mission. After this, attention was duly given to the rocket’s two solid-fuel boosters, the core stage with its four RS-25 engines, and pyrotechnic work was performed on the launch abort system at the top of the rocket. Many issues surrounding launch have also been identified and addressed, such as the emergency egress system and optimizing the level of minerals in potable water on board Orion for its passengers. While all of this is going on, teams are being put together within the US Navy and Air Force that will practice retrieving the astronauts from Orion post the splashdown in the Pacific, in what is known as the ‘just-in-time training’. 

While all this is going on, the crew has been in quarantine since late Friday so as to avoid contracting any illness. During this time, they must refrain from interacting in close quarters with others. This period usually starts 14 days before the launch date, and is officially known as the ‘health stabilization program’. The outcome of the wet dress rehearsal will determine if the crew will exit quarantine before the 14-day period for the historic launch expected to take place no earlier than February 6.

More on Starlust

NASA astronaut photographs Artemis II SLS rocket from International Space Station

NASA's Artemis II mission: Why the four astronauts won't land on the Moon