It's rolling! NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission begins journey to the launch pad

It's time to watch it go! The Artemis 1 moon mission is on its way to the launch pad.

The Kennedy Space Center is home to Pad 39B, which is where the agency's Space Launch System is being carried.

At 5:47 pm. The big door of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) opened, and the crawler took its first steps.

It is expected that the journey will take 11 hours with the SLS and Orion capsule aboard. The cargo will travel roughly 4 miles to the launch pad, with stops along the way.

NASA has live coverage of the rollout throughout the day and night. You can find live coverage at Space.com or NASA TV.

Live updates: NASA's latest Artemis 1 moon mission in action 

Related: NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos

The launch pad will be reached in the early hours of tomorrow, March 18.

Once at the pad, the mission team will spend a couple of hours raising the rocket and spacecraft up into the air. The technicians will spend the next few weeks going through pre-launch testing and wet dress rehearsal, which will practice many of the launch-day procedures.

The launch of Artemis 1, the first mission of NASA's Artemis program, is an exciting and critical step. The Artemis 1 is an uncrewed moon mission that will send the crewed vehicle, Orion, on a trip far out from Earth, thousands of miles past the moon and back to our home planet to test the space readiness and human spaceflight capabilities of both SLS and Orion.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said shortly after the launch began that the world's most powerful rocket was right here.

Artemis 1 is expected to launch in May. Between today and the launch, the mission team will practice the steps leading up to liftoff, as well as endure a variety of testing to ensure their launch readiness.

Artemis 1 will be followed by Artemis 2, a crewed mission around the moon, in 2024 and Artemis 3, NASA's first planned moon landing since 1972, which is set for no earlier than 2025.

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