The core stage for NASA's Artemis 3 rocket arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday (April 27), completing a barge journey of 900 miles (1,450 kilometers).

The Artemis II astronauts may have just returned from a successful mission to the moon, but NASA engineers are already preparing for the upcoming Artemis III launch. The largest section of the rocket for the Artemis III mission arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island,

The core stage for NASA's Artemis moon rocket has arrived in Florida in a crucial step for the upcoming Artemis III mission. Here's what to know.

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The Artemis III core stage will be placed horizontally in the transfer aisle of the VAB before being lifted into a vertical position in High Bay 2.

The massive 212-feet tall structure that houses the liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank, liquid oxygen (LOX) tank, intertank, and forward skirt, arrived at NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy to be vertically integrated with the already-arrived boat-tail and engine section in the facility’s High Bay 2.

Watch live coverage of NASA’s launch of the Artemis 1 rocket on an uncrewed mission to the Moon.

NASA's plan has three major components, which would eventually culminate in a constant human presence on the moon.