Nasa rocket that will fly astronauts around Moon takes shape ahead of 2026 launch

Crew of three Americans and one Canadian will go on 10-day mission to lunar orbit

The Space Launch System rocket on a launch pad in Florida on April 29, 2022. Nasa via EPA

A Nasa spacecraft that will carry four astronauts around the Moon in a historic mission next year is edging closer to lift-off.

Several milestones have been achieved in recent weeks on the Space Launch System rocket, designed to launch vehicles into deep space, including the installation of a critical part.

The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter links two main parts of the rocket and helps protect important flight computers and electronics when it blasts off into the skies.

Engineers are preparing the rocket for Artemis II, a 10-day mission during which the four astronauts will orbit the Moon, on board the Orion spacecraft, after being launched from Florida early in 2026.

“The cone-shaped adapter connects the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, which will propel the Artemis II test flight around the Moon, to the SLS core stage,” Nasa said this week.

“During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions.

“Up next, teams will stack the interim cryogenic propulsion stage onto the launch vehicle stage adapter.”

Artemis II will mark the first time humans have travelled near the Moon since the last Apollo mission more than 50 years ago.

Three American and one Canadian astronauts were selected for the mission. Reid Wiseman will serve as commander, Victor Glover will pilot the mission, while Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen will serve as mission specialists.

The flight will build on the success of Artemis I, an uncrewed mission in 2022 that tested the same rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

It lasted 25 days and showed that the rocket and capsule could safely travel to the Moon and back.

But the Artemis programme has faced criticism in recent years, especially because of its high costs. Each SLS rocket launch reportedly costs $2 billion, and the entire programme is behind schedule.

During Jared Isaacman’s senate nomination hearing for the role of Nasa administrator, he said he supported continuing with the Artemis programme and using the SLS rocket to send astronauts to the Moon in the near future.

“I don’t think [the SLS] is the long-term way to get to and from the Moon and to Mars with great frequency, but this is the plan we have now,” he said.

The US wants American astronauts on the lunar surface before the end of this decade, as it faces growing competition from China, which is aiming to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and build a lunar base soon after.

There is also a greater focus on Mars by the new Trump administration, aligning with billionaire Elon Musk long-standing campaign to send humans to the Red Planet.

Nasa's Artemis III mission, which will land astronauts on the Moon, is currently scheduled for 2027.