The first moonbound rocket and spacecraft of NASA's Artemis program are expected to do a "wet dress rehearsal" on the launch pad in February, the agency said.

Engineers on the mission, expected to launch later this year, put the mission hardware through a series of checks to make sure they're ready for the milestone, which will be key in determining Artemis 1's readiness for flight.

Artemis 1 is aiming to send an uncrewed spacecraft around the moon using a combination of the never-flown Space Launch System rocket, along with the once-flown Orion spacecraft.

Related: How NASA's Artemis moon landing with astronauts works.

The arm is meant to provide a safe access for astronauts to the SLS rocket during missions, and also serves technicians during assembly and testing operations in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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The goal is to make sure Orion and SLS are responding as expected during the simulated countdown.

The stacked spacecraft and booster will make their way to the nearby launch pad once the countdown test and final checkouts are finished, the agency noted, but did not provide a date yet for the transfer.