Artemis II CDDT

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, and Jeremy Graeber, assistant launch director, monitor the progress of a countdown demonstration test with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist onboard their Orion spacecraft from Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For this operation, the Artemis II crew and launch teams are simulating the launch day timeline including suit-up, walkout, and spacecraft ingress and egress. 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.