NASA's next lunar mission highlights New Orleans manufacturing role.

Artemis II will be NASA's first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years, and the rocket's 212-foot core stage was built at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East.

Artemis II is set to be NASA's first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, and a major component of the rocket was built in New Orleans East. Workers at the Michoud Assembly Facility produced the orange-colored core stage of the Space Launch System, which will carry the Orion spacecraft. NASA has postponed the launch twice and currently hopes to launch in April. Michoud leaders said the facility continues to work on later Artemis missions. Key details: - The Artemis II mission is planned as a roughly 10-day flight that will carry astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch from the U.S., and Jeremy Hansen from Canada, around the Moon and back. - The Space Launch System's core stage, built at Michoud, is 212 feet tall and includes four engines, two propellant tanks, and flight computers. - The core stage's tanks hold about 733,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to fuel the engines during the first eight minutes of flight, after which the stage separates from Orion. - Boeing is the prime contractor for the core stage, which Michoud staff transport via a large barge named Pegasus to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. - Michoud covers more than 2 million square feet under roof, employs more than 3,500 people, and officials said the facility is already working on hardware for Artemis III, IV and V. Summary: The core stage made at Michoud is a central element of the Space Launch System, which NASA says is the most powerful rocket the agency has built and is intended to support future deep-space goals including Mars. NASA hopes to launch Artemis II in April after earlier delays, and Michoud is continuing work on the next Artemis missions, with Artemis IV aiming to support a lunar landing in 2028.