NASA has postponed the Artemis II mission launch to March after discovering a liquid hydrogen leak during a recent test. Originally scheduled for February 8, the mission involves sending four astronauts on a 10-day lunar orbit journey. The next launch window is from March 6 to March 11, with specific dates determined by Earth’s rotation and the moon’s orbit.
During the wet dress rehearsal, the team encountered the hydrogen leak while loading the rocket. Engineers spent hours troubleshooting the issue, which affected the hydrogen flow into the rocket’s core stage. Despite challenges with a valve and ground audio, the team managed to complete hydrogen tanking, a significant achievement according to NASA’s Lori Glaze.
Although facing setbacks, NASA remains optimistic about resolving the issues without relocating the rocket, a tedious process that took nearly 12 hours during the last move. Wet dress rehearsals like this aim to identify and address problems before the actual launch, ensuring the mission’s success. Safety remains the top priority for NASA, emphasizing readiness for the historic mission.
The four astronauts, including Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, have been released from quarantine following the launch delay. They will re-enter quarantine closer to the new launch date. Artemis II is part of NASA’s Artemis moon program, focusing on testing vital spacecraft functions before future missions, including a potential moon landing in the coming years. NASA plans to assess data from the recent test before scheduling the next wet dress rehearsal.
