NASA Artemis Rocket Launch Update: Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal Hatch Closure Begins

NASA Artemis is moving one step closer to sending humans back to the Moon. On February 2, 2026, NASA officially began a critical phase of the Artemis II mission, the wet dress rehearsal, with the crew hatch closure process starting at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This milestone marks a major test of the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems that will support the first crewed Artemis flight around the Moon.