(CNN) The core stage of the huge rocket being built to take the first woman to the Moon has left its factory in New Orleans for Mississippi, where it will undergo its final testing before its first launch.

The rocket is part of the Space Launch System (SLS) for NASA's Artemis lunar exploration program, which aims to send the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024. NASA officials also hope the SLS will be used to reach Mars and other "deep space destinations."

On Wednesday, the 212 foot long and 27 foot diameter rocket part made a 1.3-mile trip from the Michoud factory in New Orleans to be loaded on to the NASA's Pegasus Barge , which is set to float 40 miles up the Mississippi River to NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis.

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's core stage, complete with all four RS-25 engines, is transported from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency's Pegasus barge on Wednesday.

"Completion of this first-time build of the Space Launch System rocket's core stages puts humans on the cusp of a new era of space exploration," said John Honeycutt, the SLS Program Manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

NASA, Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne personnel in front of the fully assembled core stage as it rolls out from Michoud to NASA's Pegasus barge on Wednesday.

At the Stennis Space Center, the rocket will undergo what NASA is calling the Green Run test series, which will verify whether the stage is ready to be shipped to the launch site.

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