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How NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Will Make a Looping Voyage to the Moon
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By NASA
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket poised to send four astronauts from Earth on a journey around the Moon next year may appear identical to the Artemis I SLS rocket. On closer inspection, though, engineers have upgraded the agency’s Moon rocket inside and out to improve performance, reliability, and safety.
SLS flew a picture perfect first mission on the Artemis I test flight, meeting or exceeding parameters for performance, attitude control, and structural stability to an accuracy of tenths or hundredths of a percent as it sent an uncrewed Orion thousands of miles beyond the Moon. It also returned volumes of invaluable flight data for SLS engineers to analyze to drive improvements.
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems integrate the SLS (Space Launch System) Moon rocket with the solid rocket boosters onto mobile launcher 1 inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in March 2025. Artemis II is the first crewed test flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.NASA/Frank Michaux For Artemis II, the major sections of SLS remain unchanged – a central core stage, four RS-25 main engines, two five-segment solid rocket boosters, the ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion stage), a launch vehicle stage adapter to hold the ICPS, and an Orion stage adapter connecting SLS to the Orion spacecraft. The difference is in the details.
“While we’re proud of our Artemis I performance, which validated our overall design, we’ve looked at how SLS can give our crews a better ride,” said John Honeycutt, NASA’s SLS Program manager. “Some of our changes respond to specific Artemis II mission requirements while others reflect ongoing analysis and testing, as well as lessons learned from Artemis I.”
Engineers have outfitted the ICPS with optical targets that will serve as visual cues to the astronauts aboard Orion as they manually pilot Orion around the upper stage and practice maneuvers to inform docking operations for Artemis III.
The Artemis II rocket includes an improved navigation system compared to Artemis I. Its communications capability also has been improved by repositioning antennas on the rocket to ensure continuous communications with NASA ground stations and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 which controls launches along the Eastern Range.
An emergency detection system on the ICPS allows the rocket to sense and respond to problems and notify the crew. The flight safety system adds a time delay to the self-destruct system to allow time for Orion’s escape system to pull the capsule to safety in event of an abort.
The separation motors that push the solid rocket booster away after the elements are no longer needed were angled an additional 15 degrees to increase separation clearance as the rest of the rocket speeds by.
Additionally, SLS will jettison the spent boosters four seconds earlier during Artemis II ascent than occurred during Artemis I. Dropping the boosters several seconds closer to the end of their burn will give engineers flight data to correlate with projections that shedding the boosters several seconds sooner will yield approximately 1,600 pounds of payload to Earth orbit for future SLS flights.
Engineers have incorporated additional improvements based on lessons learned from Artemis I. During the Artemis I test flight the SLS rocket experienced higher-than-expected vibrations near the solid rocket booster attachment points that was caused by unsteady airflow.
To steady the airflow, a pair of six-foot-long strakes flanking each booster’s forward connection points on the SLS intertank will smooth vibrations induced by airflow during ascent, and the rocket’s electronics system was requalified to endure higher levels of vibrations.
Engineers updated the core stage power distribution control unit, mounted in the intertank, which controls power to the rocket’s other electronics and protects against electrical hazards.
These improvements have led to an enhanced rocket to support crew as part of NASA’s Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
The approximately 10-day Artemis II test flight is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign. It is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions on the Moon’s surface that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
News Media Contact
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.631.9126
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Sep 17, 2025 EditorLee MohonContactJonathan DealLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Space Launch System (SLS) Artemis Artemis 2 Exploration Ground Systems Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
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By NASA
3 min read
Weird Ways to Observe the Moon
Sun Funnels in action! Starting clockwise from the bottom left, a standalone Sun Funnel; attached to a small refractor to observe the transit of Mercury in 2019; attached to a large telescope in preparation for evening lunar observing; projection of the Moon on a funnel from a medium-size scope (5 inches). Night Sky Network International Observe the Moon Night is on October 4, 2025, this year– but you can observe the Moon whenever it’s up, day or night! While binoculars and telescopes certainly reveal incredible details of our neighbor’s surface, bringing out dark seas, bright craters, and numerous odd fissures and cracks, these tools are not the only way to observe details about our Moon. There are more ways to observe the Moon than you might expect, just using common household materials.
Put on a pair of sunglasses, especially polarized sunglasses! You may think this is a joke, but the point of polarized sunglasses is to dramatically reduce glare, and so they allow your eyes to pick out some lunar details! Surprisingly, wearing sunglasses even helps during daytime observations of the Moon.
One unlikely tool is the humble plastic bottle cap! John Goss from the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society shared these directions on how to make your own bottle cap lunar viewer, which was suggested to him by Fred Schaaf many years ago as a way to also view the thin crescent of Venus when close to the Sun:
“The full Moon is very bright, so much that details are overwhelmed by the glare. Here is an easy way to see more! Start by drilling a 1/16-inch (1.5 mm) diameter hole in a plastic soft drink bottle cap. Make sure it is an unobstructed, round hole. Now look through the hole at the bright Moon. The image brightness will be much dimmer than normal – over 90% dimmer – reducing or eliminating any lunar glare. The image should also be much sharper because the bottle cap blocks light from entering the outer portion of your pupil, where imperfections of the eye’s curving optical path likely lie.” Many report seeing a startling amount of lunar detail!
You can project the Moon! Have you heard of a “Sun Funnel”? It’s a way to safely view the Sun by projecting the image from an eyepiece to fabric stretched across a funnel mounted on top. It’s easy to make at home, too – directions are here: bit.ly/sunfunnel. Depending on your equipment, a Sun Funnel can view the Moon as well as the Sun– a full Moon gives off more than enough light to project from even relatively small telescopes. Large telescopes will project the full Moon and its phases with varying levels of detail; while not as crisp as direct eyepiece viewing, it’s still an impressive sight! You can also mount your smartphone or tablet to your eyepiece for a similar Moon-viewing experience, but the funnel doesn’t need batteries.
Of course, you can join folks in person or online to celebrate our Moon on October 4, 2025, with International Observe the Moon Night – find details at moon.nasa.gov/observe.
Originally posted by Dave Prosper: September 2021
Last Updated by Kat Troche: March 2025
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
NASA has certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters, marking a key milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA explore the lunar South Pole, paving the way for human exploration farther into the solar system, including Mars.
The mountains in northern Colorado offer similar visual illusions and flight environments to the Moon. NASA partnered with the Colorado Army National Guard at the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course.
“Artemis astronauts who will land on the Moon will need to master crew coordination and communication with one another,” said Paul Felker, acting deputy director of flight operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Much like they will on the Moon, astronaut teams are learning how to work together efficiently in a stressful environment to identify hazards, overcome degraded visual environments, and evaluate risks to successfully land.”
During the two-week certification run in late August, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Matthew Dominick participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick (left) and Mark Vande Hei (right) prepare to fly out to a landing zone in the Rocky Mountains as part of the certification run for the NASA Artemis course at the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Gypsum, Colorado, Aug. 26. NASA/Michael DeMocker A LUH-72 Lakota helicopter stirs up dust at the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Gypsum, Colorado, Aug. 28. NASA/Charles Beason A member of the Colorado Army National Guard peers out of a CH-47 Chinook in preparation for landing Aug. 22. NASA and trained instructors from the Army National Guard use a range of aircraft during flight training. Chinooks are used to demonstrate challenges with landing on the Moon. NASA/Charles Beason NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick (left) and Mark Vande Hei (right) celebrate after returning from a training flight Aug. 26 during a certification run for a lander flight training course for crewed Artemis missions. NASA/Michael DeMocker Paired with trained instructors with the Army National Guard, astronauts fly to mountaintops and valleys in a range of aircraft, including LUH-72 Lakotas, CH-47 Chinooks, and UH-60 Black Hawks. NASA/Charles Beason NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei lands a helicopter as part of flight and landing training at the High Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site Aug. 28. NASA/Michael DeMocker A member of the Colorado Army National Guard looks out of a CH-47 Chinook as it lands at a steep angle Aug. 29. A crater on the Moon could have a similar incline, posing landing challenges for future crewed Artemis missions. NASA/Michael DeMocker A LUH-72 Lakota helicopter flies over the mountains of northern Colorado Aug. 28 during a certification run for a lander flight training course for crewed Artemis missions. The mountains and valleys in Colorado have similar visual illusions to the Moon. NASA/Michael DeMocker The patch for the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site is pictured in the cupola of the International Space Station in 2023. NASA and the Colorado Army National Guard began working together in 2021 to develop a foundational lunar lander simulated flight training course for Artemis. NASA The NASA astronauts and trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard flew to progressively more challenging landing zones throughout the course, navigating the mountainous terrain, and working together to quickly and efficiently land the aircraft.
Teams can train year-round using the course. Depending on the season, the snowy or dusty conditions can cause visual obstruction. Lunar dust can cause similar visual impairment during future crewed missions.
“Here in Colorado, we have specifically flown to dusty areas, so we know and understand just how important dust becomes during the final descent phase,” Vande Hei said. “Dust will interact with the lander thrusters on the Moon. During our flight training, we have had to revert to our instruments – just like we would on the Moon – because astronauts may lose all their visual cues when they’re near the surface.”
During Artemis III, four astronauts inside the agency’s Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS (Space Launch System rocket) will launch to meet SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System in lunar orbit. Orion will then dock with the Starship system and two astronauts will board the lander. Astronauts will use the Starship lander to safely transport themselves from lunar orbit to the lunar surface. Following surface operations, the two astronauts will use Starship to launch from the lunar surface, back to lunar orbit, and dock with Orion to safely journey back to Earth.
The NASA-focused course has been in development since 2021. Vande Hei and Dominick are the 24th and 25th NASA astronauts to participate in and evaluate the course based on functionality and Artemis mission needs. One ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut has also participated in the course.
“This course will likely be one of the first group flight training opportunities for the Artemis III crew,” said NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, who helped to develop the foundational training course for the agency. “While the astronauts will also participate in ground and simulation training in Ohio and Texas, the real-world flight environment in Colorado at offers astronauts an amazing simulation of the problem solving and decision making needed to control and maneuver a lunar lander across an equally dynamic landscape.”
Though the course is now certified for Artemis, teams will continue to evaluate the training based on astronaut and technical feedback to ensure mission success and crew safety.
Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars for the benefit of all.
For more information about Artemis visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
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Last Updated Sep 10, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayContactCorinne M. Beckingercorinne.m.beckinger@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Human Landing System Program Artemis Artemis 3 Humans in Space Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
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