NASA debuts Artemis control room for astronaut lunar missions. When is the rocket launch?

NASA's first lunar campaign in five decades since the Apollo era came to an end should be a little more technologically advanced than its 1960s-70s counterpart.

The U.S. space agency has a brand new complex to watch over its upcoming Artemis II lunar campaign, which in 2026 could send three Americans and one Canadian on a journey around the moon. That mission will then pave the way for the first Americans to step foot on the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

A landmark mission requires some pretty advanced ground systems to monitor it and that's just what NASA has planned with its new facility in the Mission Control Center at itsJohnson Space Centerin Houston.

NASA provided a look earlier in August of the Orion Mission Evaluation Room, named for the capsule that will carry astronauts to lunar orbit.

Here's a look at the room that will provide crucial behind-the-scenes input to ensure Orion safely takes its crew around the moon after launching from Florida.

NASA shows off new Houston control room for Artemis lunar missions

The new Orion Mission Evaluation Room inside the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Dozens of engineers will monitor the Artemis II Orion spacecraft along its journey in 2026 while collecting data from the new room, which opened Aug. 15 inside the Mission Control Center.

The evaluation room includes 24 consoles that should be staffed 24/7 by at least two engineers in varying disciplines, and sometimes more during "dynamic," or major, phases of the mission, NASA said.

Meanwhile, the flight control team located in mission control’s White Flight Control Room will simultaneously operate and send commands to Orion during the flight.

"The flight control team will rely on the engineering expertise of the evaluation room to help with unexpected spacecraft behaviors that may arise during the mission and help analyze Orion’s performance data," according to NASA.

The Orion Mission Evaluation Room team works during an Artemis II mission simulation on Aug. 19, 2025, from the new space inside the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

What is the Artemis program?

NASA's Artemis program is the agency's ambitious campaign to return Americans to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The last U.S. astronaut to land on the moon was on Dec. 19, 1972, during NASA's Apollo 17 mission.

At the outset, the Artemis missions will use NASA's Space Launch System rocket to propel the crewed Orion spacecraft into space, which is equipped with its own thrusters to guide its way to lunar orbit. Eventually, though, NASA will transition to launch services from the private sector under President Donald Trump's vision for U.S. spaceflight.

SpaceX is also under contract with NASA to develop its massive Starship spacecraft toferry Artemis III astronauts from orbit to the lunar surface. The vehicle, which just launched Aug. 26 on its 10th test flight, is also the centerpiece of SpaceX founder Elon Musk'svision of sending the first humans to Mars.

The Artemis program, though, has for years beenmired in delaysand controversy as elected officials and other aeronautics experts haveexpressed concerns about its scope and cost.

Artemis I launched Nov. 16, 2022, from the Kennedy Space Center, sending the Orion capsule on a moon orbiting mission without a crew in the first test of the vehicle. The Orion splashed down Dec. 11, 2022, in the Pacific Ocean.

In the years ahead, NASA's Artemis campaign aims to establisha lunar settlement on the south pole, where water ice thought to be abundant in the region couldbe extracted and used for drinking, breathing and as a source of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.

The settlement – which includes plans for a nuclear reactor – would serve as a base of operations tomake further crewed space missions, including trips to Mars, possible.

When will Artemis missions with astronauts launch?

NASA's long-awaited crewed missions to the moon were once again delayed in December by another year, mostly due to issues with the Orion capsule the astronauts would ride to space during two separate upcoming lunar expeditions.

As of now, the Artemis II mission will launch no later than April 2026, taking four astronauts ona 10-day trip circumnavigating – but not landing on – the moon. That mission will be followed no earlier than 2027 by Artemis III, which will return astronauts to the surface of the moon itself.

Both missions will get off the ground from NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida.

During Artemis II, NASA's new evaluation room will operate in three daily shifts, beginning about 48 hours prior to liftoff. The room will be staffed around the clock throughout the 10-day mission, up until the spacecraft has safely made a water landing off the California coast and been secured inside a U.S. Navy recovery ship.

Artemis II astronauts suit up for training at Kennedy Space Center in Florida

NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen suit up Aug. 11 for a dress rehearsal at Florida's Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis II lunar mission, slated to launch no earlier than 2026.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, selected as the crew for Artemis II, recently suited up for multiple days of training over the summer.

Koch and Glover represent the first woman and first African American, respectively, assigned to a NASA lunar mission.

“America rallied behind Apollo because it represented the best of us – now it’s Artemis’ turn," NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said in an earlier statement. "They’re not just carrying a flag – they’re carrying the pride, power and promise of the United States of America.”

The Artemis III crew has not yet been announced.

NASA, though, plans to debut its 2025 class of astronaut candidates in September, who could be eligible for agency missions to low-Earth orbit, the moon, and Mars following two years of training.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA debuts Artemis control room for lunar mission launches in Florida