NASA SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM REFERENCE GUIDE for ARTEMIS II: NASA Artemis Program - From The Moon To Mars

* Paperback Version - 82 Pages - FULL COLOR ** LATEST 2026 RELEASE FOR THE ARTEMIS II MISSION *SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM REFERENCE GUIDE for ARTEMIS IIFrom The Moon To MarsThe SLS (Space Launch System) team is excited to be flying Orion back to the Moon on NASA’s heavy-lift rocket for Artemis II. This is the first crewed mission of the Artemis campaign to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to gain experience for human missions to Mars.We are proud to be a key part of that bold effort.Astronauts from the United States and Canada will leave Earth and journey around the Moon for the first time since NASA’s Apollo 17 made the trip in 1972.The Artemis II mission is a practice run that will set the stage for future Artemis missions – humans once again landing on the lunar surface, exploring areas the Apollo astronauts did not, staying longer, learning more, and making new discoveries. It is the next step to establishing our presence on a strategically important piece of solar system real estate.Our jobs at SLS are full of numbers that guide our work every day. As we prepare for Artemis II, our most important number is four. It reminds us daily of the four Artemis II crew members – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen – the brave explorers who will lead humanity back to the Moon. We work every day to ensure SLS is safe and successful for our four brave explorers.For SLS, the Artemis II story really began with the uncrewed Artemis I mission. The greatest reward was what the performance of that rocket told the world about the team – NASA and industry, as well as the stakeholders – that took SLS from concept to drawing board to manufacturing floor to test stand to launch in November 2022.That textbook flight defied the historical odds for first flights. As you will read in more detail below, the SLS rocket, including its core stage, boosters, upper stage, flight computers, and software were exhaustively tested. As a result, the rocket performed to an incredible level, meeting every objective for the mission on its first flight.The pre-launch activities, launch, and mission returned a treasure trove of information on how SLS performed from countdown through end-of-mission. We collected more than four terabytes of data and onboard imagery, including 31 terabytes of SLS imagery. Our months-long analysis of this comprehensive data validated the performance of the rocket and verified its capability to safely transport astronauts to the Moon.We applied the lessons learned to the rocket for Artemis II and those for future missions.At the time of this writing, Artemis I is in the history books, and Artemis II is being readied for the launch pad. However, the work doesn’t stop there. We are also laying the groundwork for future Artemis missions with the SLS core stages, engines, boosters, upper stages, and payload adapters all being built and tested. And, we continue working on improvements that will make SLS more capable and safer.SLS is critical for achieving the next leaps in lunar exploration as the only vehicle capable of sending crews and large exploration cargoes directly to the Moon in a single launch. It represents a national strategic capability, strengthening the nation’s technical and industrial base while advancing peaceful international collaboration in space. We are proud to share our story, here.This Artemis II SLS Reference Guide gives an exciting view and picture of the upcoming CREWED LAUNCH and preparation for landing on the moon during Artemis III.Get Your Copy Today! Read more