NASA DELAYS ARTEMIS II MOON MISSION – NASA postpones crewed Moon flyby after fuel leak detected during final launch rehearsal
NASA has delayed its Artemis Two mission to at least March, after engineers identified technical issues during a final launch rehearsal.
The mission, which will send four astronauts around the Moon and back, had been expected to lift off as early as this month. The delay follows a 49-hour countdown simulation at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
During the so-called “wet dress rehearsal” — a full practice run that includes loading the rocket with liquid fuel — engineers detected a leak of liquid hydrogen in part of the Space Launch System’s fuelling equipment. NASA said further checks are now required before a launch can proceed.
The Artemis Two crew includes three American astronauts and one from Canada. If successful, the mission would mark the first crewed journey beyond low-Earth orbit in more than fifty years.
Artemis Two is a key step toward NASA’s planned return of astronauts to the lunar surface under the Artemis Three mission, currently scheduled for 2028.
