NASA’s launch and mission teams, along with the Artemis II crew, completed a key test Dec. 20, a countdown demonstration test, ahead of the Artemis II flight around the Moon early next year.

NASA's Artemis program represents the most ambitious human spaceflight effort since Apollo, aiming not only to return ...

NASA’s Artemis II crew boarded the Orion spacecraft on December 20, 2025, for a countdown demonstration test, rehearsing launch-day procedures at Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building.