Artemis II crew enter quarantine as NASA prepares wet dress rehearsal

Four Artemis II astronauts have begun a 14-day health stabilization quarantine in Houston while NASA prepares a wet dress rehearsal for the SLS ahead of a tentative Feb. 6 launch.

Four astronauts for the Artemis II mission have begun a 14-day health stabilization quarantine at NASA's Houston facility ahead of a tentative February 6 launch. The crew members are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They will continue training while isolated and are scheduled to fly to Kennedy Space Center six days before the official launch to use the Operations and Checkout Building crew quarters. If the launch date is postponed, the quarantine will be applied 14 days before the rescheduled launch. Key points: - The quarantine is described as a health stabilization program to reduce the risk of illness before entering the spacecraft. - Family and close contacts may communicate with the crew under strict quarantine protocols. - NASA moved the SLS from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B on January 17 in a roughly four-mile, 12-hour transfer. - Launch pad preparations include an emergency egress slide-wire system, powering up Orion and SLS elements, and testing radio-frequency links with the Eastern Range. - During the wet dress rehearsal, teams will load about 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant, run a launch countdown, and practice safe removal of propellant. - The Orion crew will remain in quarantine during the wet dress rehearsal, and if there is a problem the SLS and mobile launcher would be returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building using Crawler Transporter-2. Summary: The quarantine and systems checks are intended to limit health and operational risks as Artemis II moves toward final prelaunch rehearsals. NASA is preparing a wet dress rehearsal that will include fueling, countdown procedures, and propellant removal practice. The mission timeline centers on the tentative February 6 launch, and quarantine timing would reset if the date is changed.