Moon Mission Delayed: NASA Rocket Glitch Halts Launch
NASA delays Artemis II after a helium leak disrupts launch plans, pushing back the historic lunar mission set to return astronauts to the Moon.
NASA has said that its long-awaited lunar mission scheduled for March 6th "will no longer be able to launch" after last-minute issues were discovered during routine checks, preventing the mission from launching.
On Friday, the space agency said its Artemis II mission, which will send astronauts to the Moon for the first time in 50 years, could be cleared for launch within a few weeks.
But NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced on Saturday that the disruptions mean further maintenance will be needed.
Preparations are underway to send four astronauts to the other side of the Moon on a 10-day trip and bring them back, which will be humanity's longest journey into space to date.
Isaacman said he understands "people are disappointed by this development," after nearly 50 hours of checks on Thursday found no faults.
The agency was almost certain that its "wet rehearsal" had been successful, after which the team announced that the launch could take place by March 6.
But on Friday night, engineers noticed a blockage in the flow of helium, which is essential for launch operations.
According to NASA, a blockage in helium, which is used to pressurize fuel tanks and cool rocket systems, is considered a serious technical problem.
NASA aims to return humans to the Moon by early March.
This test was the second attempt at a practice run by scientists at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after they previously fixed filter and seal problems that were causing hydrogen leaks.
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On Thursday, approximately 730,000 gallons of propellant were filled into the rocket over several hours, and the team said the simulation felt like "a major step toward getting the right to fly."
But space missions are often fraught with difficulties, Iseman said, pointing out that Neil Armstrong's 1966 Gemini 8 mission ended prematurely due to a technical problem, just three years before his historic Moon landing. Three US astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are scheduled to fly on a mega-moon rocket, giving them several hours to observe the lunar surface up close.
If this mission is successful, it is hoped it will pave the way for Artemis III, in which astronauts will set foot on the Moon for the first time since 1972.
NASA says the landing will occur by 2028, but acknowledged it could take much longer.
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