NASA will soon launch its moon rocket, signaling mankind’s first trip to the moon in more than 50 years — and Mississippi played a crucial role in what’s set to be a historic mission for the United States.
The space-bound crew consists of NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with the Jeremy Hansen with the Canadian Space Agency. The four are scheduled to liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday at 5:24 p.m. CT on a ship that has Mississippi’s hand prints all over it.
Stennis Space Center near the Mississippi coastal city Bay St. Louis has been the test site for the RS-25 engines for the space launch systems involved in Artemis missions, including the one that will soon be underway. Testing and research on the Artemis II engines were conducted at Stennis in recent years, with Mississippi residents putting in the work to ensure that these systems are viable.
“The tests conducted at NASA Stennis help ensure the safety of our astronauts and their future mission success. We are proud to be part of the Artemis mission,” said Chip Ellis, project manager for RS-25 testing at NASA Stennis, when the engine certification process wrapped up.
Wednesday’s launch will begin an approximately 10-day venture. During that time, the astronauts are slated to travel around the moon and back to earth. The crew is anticipated to go deeper into space than any other humans, with the voyage set to reach 250,000 miles away from earth’s surface.
NASA’s mission is especially significant today as roughly 75% of the global population was not alive when humans first landed on the moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
Artemis II is setting up future crewed missions with an overarching American objective of space dominance. The current mission will serve to test vital life support and crew systems in space to substantiate the viability of modern technology for moon landing operations.
A December 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump pivoted the goal of Artemis to ensure a long-term moon presence, rather than a quick visit.
The new plan includes building a moon base supporting recurring astronaut operations. Astronauts will be trained on landing and how to step foot on the moon, with the goal of establishing permanent colonies for defense research purposes.
“This is a pretty awesome five-to-six year window we have for space. It’s really awesome because, just a mile from where I sit, at Stennis Space Center, they test the vehicles that are going to get us there,” Mississippi Enterprise for Technology President and CEO Davis Pace said. “Mississippi plays an enormous role in this very near future of hopeful space dominance by the United States. This is a really exciting time for America and Mississippi.”
Those looking to watch the Artemis II launch can do so by clicking here.