NASA’s Artemis II mission has faced another delay following a significant technical issue during its ‘wet dress rehearsal’.
This mission will see four astronauts venture further into space than ever before as they orbit the Moon and return to Earth. It marks the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The crew includes Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman. They will launch on a Space Launch System rocket aboard an Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will last 10 days and cover 4,600 miles beyond the Moon.
Originally, the launch was scheduled for Friday (February 6) but was postponed to Sunday (February 8) due to poor weather conditions coinciding with the Super Bowl.
Following a practice session on Monday night (February 2), NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced the launch is now postponed until at least March.
During the ‘wet dress rehearsal’, which tests the SLS’s fueling system, engineers activated the rocket’s core stage and loaded it with over 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, as explained by NASA.
“During the test, teams worked through a liquid hydrogen leak at a core stage interface during tanking, which required pauses to warm hardware and adjust propellant flow,” Isaacman stated on X.
“All core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage tanks were successfully filled, and teams conducted a terminal countdown to about T-5 minutes before the ground launch sequencer halted operations due to an increased leak rate.”
Isaacman also mentioned audio communication issues with ground teams and cold weather affecting some cameras.
He emphasized that such challenges are expected, saying: “That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success.
“We will only launch when we believe we are as ready to undertake this historic mission.”
NASA’s Artemis I mission in 2022 experienced similar issues before its successful uncrewed Moon flight. The mission was delayed by six months due to hydrogen leaks identified during its initial rehearsal, according to NBC.
The Artemis II crew had been quarantined in Houston in preparation for the February 8 launch. They have since been released but will re-enter isolation two weeks before the rescheduled launch.
“With March as the potential launch window, teams will fully review data from the test, mitigate each issue, and return to testing ahead of setting an official target launch date,” NASA stated.