Just a day after NASA set a target date of March 6 for its next mission to the Moon, the agency’s head announced he would remove the rocket from the cradle entirely.
NASA/Sam Lott
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Just a day after NASA announced it was on track for a launch on March 6 of its next lunar mission, Artemis II, the agency revealed a new problem with the mission’s rocket that “almost assuredly” derails this plan.
In a Saturday blog postNASA said engineers had detected an interruption in the flow of helium in the upper stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed the problem in a social media post and that the rocket will be removed from the launch pad and returned to the vehicle assembly building for repair work.
“We will begin preparations for the rollback, and this will not take into account the March launch window,” Isaacman wrote.
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“A flow of helium is required for launch,” NASA said in the message, and engineers are deciding what to do next. The mission’s predecessor, Artemis I, also suffered from a helium problem, although it is unclear whether Artemis IIThe problem is the same, Isaacman said.
Artemis II has already been delayed several times, the last time due to the failure of its first “wet dress rehearsal”. This key test consists of loading the rocket with fuel, preparing the capsule which will house the Artemis II the crew for the duration of the launch mission, and simulate a launch countdown. The first attempt was marred by hydrogen leaks and other problems. But the second attempt, which took place just a few days ago, was a success. That’s why NASA had been confident in a March launch date just hours before this new problem arose.
When it finally launches, Artemis II will see four astronauts – NASA’s Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen – take a ten-day round trip around the Moon. Together, they will observe the elusive dark side of the Moon and perform critical tests that will help form the basis of Artemis III—NASA’s planned mission to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century by 2028.
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