NASA sets sights on March for Artemis II launch
NASA is now targeting March for the earliest possible launch of its historic Artemis II lunar moon mission, which will send four astronauts into deep space for the first time since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago, reports BritPanorama.
The decision followed the completion of a wet dress rehearsal in the early hours of Tuesday, a pivotal test of the towering rocket system that will propel the astronauts on an unprecedented path around the moon. The mission had initially been expected to lift off as soon as February 8.
NASA encountered several problems during the rehearsal, including issues with hydrogen leaks while filling Artemis II’s Space Launch System rocket with propellant, compounded by a late start due to cold weather. Consequently, the delay will allow teams to review data and conduct a second launch rehearsal.
“With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman added in a tweet. He emphasized the purpose of such rehearsals: to identify problems before a flight and ensure a launch day with the highest probability of success.
Artemis II aims to send four astronauts—NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen—on a 10-day journey beyond the far side of the moon, potentially setting a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth.
The astronauts have been released from quarantine, which began on January 21, and will not travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as originally scheduled. They will enter quarantine again about two weeks from the next targeted launch date. NASA previously identified March 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 as available dates for 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,” the agency stated.
NASA leaders are scheduled to hold a news conference at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday to discuss the initial results from the wet dress rehearsal.
