NASA Pushes Back Moon Mission Until at Least March

By Micah Maidenberg

NASA is now aiming to send astronauts around the moon next month after running into hurdles as it practiced fueling a huge rocket developed for the mission.

The agency said it is eyeing dates in March for Artemis II, a mission designed to send a crew of four on a lunar fly-by, before their return to Earth. Artemis II would be the deepest human spaceflight in decades and help set the stage for astronauts landing once again on the lunar surface.

Officials at NASA had kept open the possibility of launching the Artemis II mission in February going into a so-called wet-dress rehearsal of the Space Launch System rocket that began on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The rehearsal allows launch teams to practice loading the massive vehicle with 700,000 gallons of propellant, including liquid hydrogen, as a countdown clock runs, simulating the time constraints of an actual launch.

Teams at NASA were able to load the rocket with the fuel, but faced technical problems during the practice run, according to the agency. Leaks of liquid hydrogen, a propellant used for the rocket, were one issue.

"We fully anticipated encountering challenges," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post early Tuesday on X. "These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success."

The new plan to try to launch in March will give teams time to review what had happened and conduct another wet-dress rehearsal of the rocket, NASA said.

During the first Artemis mission in 2022, NASA struggled with loading the SLS rocket with liquid hydrogen propellant.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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