A group of astronauts assigned to future Artemis missions, including NASA's Randy Bresnik and ESA's Luca Parmitano, visited the Kennedy Space Center facilities in Florida. The purpose of the visit was to observe the progress in the integration of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a crucial stage in preparing the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for lunar missions.

The visit underscores the advanced phase of preparation for the Artemis missions, which aim for humanity's return to the Moon. The VAB is an iconic NASA facility, where the most powerful rockets in space history have been assembled, from the Apollo program's Saturn V to the space shuttle and now the SLS. The integration of the SRBs is a fundamental step, as they provide most of the initial thrust needed to escape Earth's gravity.