February 3, 2026

NASA successfully concluded the wet dress rehearsal for Artemis II early Tuesday morning at Kennedy Space Center, loading cryogenic propellants into the Space Launch System rocket, completing Orion closeout operations, and safely draining the vehicle. The approximately 49-hour test began at 8:13 p.m. EST on Jan. 31 and allowed teams to practice fueling, countdown, and scrub procedures while evaluating hardware performance in cold conditions. Engineers successfully filled the core and upper stage tanks and conducted a terminal countdown demonstration, while working through challenges including low temperatures, a liquid hydrogen leak, longer closeout timelines, and intermittent ground communications.

To allow time to review data, address issues, and conduct a second rehearsal, NASA is now targeting March as the earliest launch opportunity. Teams will continue refining systems and procedures to ensure full readiness and crew safety ahead of setting an official launch date.

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Orion is NASA's spacecraft that will take humans deep into space. No other spacecraft in development has the technology needed for the extremes of deep space, such as life support, navigation, communications, radiation shielding and the world's largest heat shield that will protect astronauts and help return them safely home.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor building Orion. We are in the production phase and have finalized a contract for six Orion spacecraft missions and the ability to order up to 12 in total. The first spacecraft delivered on this contract, Artemis III, will carry the first woman and the next man to the surface of the Moon. Orion is a critical part of the agency's Artemis program to build a sustainable presence on the lunar surface and to prepare us to move on to Mars.

What puts Orion in a class all its own? The technology our engineers use to build the only exploration class spacecraft to take humans deeper into space than ever before. 

• Life Support Systems: Advanced environmental control and life support systems designed for long duration missions keeps the crew safe and healthy.
• Radiation Protection: Needed to protect crew and spacecraft systems from cosmic and solar radiation seen in deep space.
• Heat Shield: Designed to take extreme temperatures of 5,000°F coming back from the Moon at 24,700 mph, while keeping the crew safe and comfortable.
• Propulsion System: The service module has 33 engines, including its large main engine that is used to provide high-power, deep space maneuvers.
• Deep Space Communications & Navigation: Unique systems designed specifically for deep space travel. Where Orion is going, there are no GPS or communications satellites.
• Redundancy: When coming back home quickly isn’t an option, redundant systems will ensure that critical elements such as computers remain operable if something goes wrong.

Mars Base Camp is Lockheed Martin’s vision for sending humans to Mars in about a decade. The concept is simple: transport astronauts from Earth, via the Moon, to a Mars-orbiting science laboratory where they can perform real-time scientific exploration, analyze Martian rock and soil samples, and confirm the ideal place to land humans on the surface in the 2030s.