As NASA’s Moon rocket thundered into the Space Coast sky, it heralded a renewed era of human exploration. The agency’s Artemis II mission begins an effort to learn how to live and work on another world in preparation for pioneering missions to Mars. During the 10-day flight, the four-person crew will circle around the Earth’s neighbor, traveling farther away than any astronauts during the Apollo Program of the 1960s and 1970s.
Early on the morning of Dec. 17, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with a group of Starlink satellites to provide internet to underserved areas. It was the 109th launch of the year breaking the record of 93 launches during the previous 12 months. As 2026 dawned, NASA also stands at the cusp of a new era of exploration as the agency prepares to renew human exploration of the Moon.
During 2023, 72 rockets launched into the skies regularly rumbling windows along Florida’s Space Coast proving, again, that NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station have been established as America’s premier multi-user spaceport. The new record shattered the previous number set only last year during which 57 rockets lifted off.
In November of 2024, NASA will renew human exploration beyond Earth as four astronauts travel to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Aboard an Orion spacecraft, four astronauts will loop beyond the lunar surface venturing farther away than humans ever traveled before. Plans call for the Artemis II flight test to pave the way for landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon for long-term presence for science and exploration.
Capped by the highly successful Artemis I mission, 2022 was a landmark year for NASA. Groundbreaking research continued in Earth orbit, a new human-rated spacecraft circled the Moon, robotic exploration of Mars reached important milestones and the agency’s newest telescope revealed never-before seen images of the universe.
The ground shook for miles around as NASA’s new mega-rocket, the most powerful in the world, roared to life for the first time, beginning a new era in space exploration. Liftoff of the 32-story-tall Space Launch System, or SLS, is sending a human-rated spacecraft to the Moon for the first time in 50 years. The Orion capsule now is streaking across trans-lunar space on a mission that will take it well beyond the Moon, paving the way for landing the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.
On the evening of Aug. 16, 2022, the most powerful rocket ever built once again rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. But this time, it’s for real. The destination is the Moon.
Throughout history, humankind has shared an innate trait – the desire to explore. Prehistoric men and women may have stood curiously at the opening of caves and wondered what was over the next hill. Centuries later, a teenager in New England envisioned a trip to a distant planet. With the rollout of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket and Orion spacecraft, the agency now is preparing a return to the Moon as a steppingstone to an eventual expedition to Mars.
The most powerful rocket ever built now is fully assembled at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and final preparations are underway to begin the agency’s most ambitious program of exploration. A series of integrated tests are planned prior to the targeted liftoff in March 2022. The Space Launch System (SLS) will send an Orion spacecraft on a mission well beyond the Moon paving the way for landing the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.
NASA’s spacecraft designed to return astronauts to the Moon recently reached a major milestone in preparations for its first flight atop the world’s largest rocket, the Space Launch System. The Orion capsule for the agency’s Artemis I mission moved from the manufacturing and assembly stage to processing for flight. This is one of the latest steps forward for the program that will take the first woman and next man to the lunar surface.