Artemis 2, NASA's thrilling first crewed lunar mission since Apollo, relies on massive amounts of cryogenic fuel to hurl four astronauts toward the Moon on a 10-day journey. Recent updates show the SLS rocket fully loaded and prepped for liftoff around early April 2026, after overcoming hydrogen leak hurdles in rehearsals.

Core Stage Fuel Load

The SLS core stage guzzles 733,000 gallons (about 2.77 million liters) of super-chilled liquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer), chilled to minus 423°F for max power.

NASA pumped roughly 730,000 gallons (2.76 million liters) during the critical wet dress rehearsal in February 2026, proving seals held firm after fixes.

Boeing notes over 700,000 gallons (2.6M+ liters) at liftoff, burned in just eight minutes to generate 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

Breakdown by Components

  • Liquid Hydrogen (Fuel) : Roughly 537,000 gallons – the "gas" side that burns with oxygen.
  • Liquid Oxygen (Oxidizer) : About 196,000 gallons – enables combustion in space's vacuum.
  • Total Propellant : 733,000 gallons in core tanks alone, powering four RS-25 engines.

This mix fuels the core stage's brief but explosive burn, separating post- liftoff as boosters and upper stages kick in.

Orion Service Module Fuel

ESA's European Service Module adds 8,600 kg (about 2,250 gallons) of propellant (monomethylhydrazine fuel + nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer) for maneuvers, life support, and return propulsion.

No landing means less fuel than Artemis 3, relying on lunar gravity for a free-return trajectory.

Mission Prep Highlights

NASA's February 2026 rehearsal loaded 2.76 million liters successfully, fixing leaks that plagued Artemis 1 – a huge win keeping March/April launch windows open.

By March 31, 2026, fueling began anew for the real deal, with crews loading 730,000 gallons ahead of the April 1 attempt.

Fun fact : That's enough propellant to fill ~12 Olympic pools, all boiled off in minutes for that Moon-bound shove!

Component| Fuel Type| Volume (Gallons)| Volume (Liters)
---|---|---|---
Core Stage Total| LH2 + LOX| 733,000| 2,775,000 45
Hydrogen (Est.)| LH2| 537,000| ~2M 3
Oxygen (Est.)| LOX| 196,000| ~740k 3
Service Module| MMH/ NTO| ~2,250| 8,600 kg 7

TL;DR: Artemis 2's SLS core burns ~733,000 gallons (2.77M liters) of LH2/LOX; full stack hits liftoff with that massive cryogenic payload.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.