NASA will review data collected during a simulated Artemis II rocket launch before revealing a new date for its next lunar mission
NASA/Sam Lott
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NASA delayed its next lunar mission at least in March after a crucial test of the Artemis II rocket.
NASA said Tuesday that the mission wet dress rehearsalwhich involved refueling the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and then launching a countdown sequence, had revealed problems with both the rocket and the Orion capsule that is supposed to house the four astronauts who will fly aboard.
Indeed, this critical test of Artemis IIThe rocket’s systems did not go smoothly: Within hours of fueling the rocket, the SLS appeared to be leaking liquid hydrogen from its core stage, which houses its main engines. This caused NASA to temporarily suspend loading the rocket’s propellant in order to resolve the problem. And later, a valve on the Orion capsule malfunctioned, while engineers also attempted to troubleshoot several interruptions in ground teams’ audio communications channels.
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Fuel leaks have already affected the SLS. Artemis I, the previous mission of Artemis IIalso suffered from fuel leaks during its wet dress rehearsal and at other times before the mission, delaying its launch by several weeks.
Artemis II will see four astronauts complete a 10-day loop around the Moon and return to Earth, going further into space than any human has gone before. The mission is currently expected to launch no earlier than March.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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