NASA is now focusing on March for the earliest doable launch of its historic Artemis II lunar moon mission, which is able to ship 4 astronauts into deep area for the primary time for the reason that Apollo program ended greater than 5 a long time in the past.
The resolution got here within the early hours of Tuesday after NASA stated it had accomplished a moist gown rehearsal, a vital take a look at of the towering rocket system that may launch the astronauts on an unprecedented path across the moon. The mission had been anticipated to elevate off as quickly as February 8.
NASA stated it encountered a number of problems in the course of the take a look at after chilly climate prompted a late begin, together with working into points with hydrogen leaks whereas filling up Artemis II’s Space Launch System rocket with propellant. The delay would permit groups to evaluation information and conduct a second launch rehearsal, the agency said in a blog post.
“With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman added in a tweet.
“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,” he added.
NASA leaders will maintain a information convention at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday to debate the preliminary outcomes from the rehearsal.
When cleared to fly, Artemis II will ship a bunch of 4 astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch in addition to the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — on a 10-day journey past the far facet of the moon. The mission may set a brand new document for the farthest distance people have ever traveled from Earth.
The astronauts will now be launched from quarantine, which they entered in Houston on January 21, and never journey to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday as tentatively deliberate.
NASA stated the crew will enter quarantine once more about two weeks from the subsequent focused launch date. NASA had beforehand stated that March 6, March 7, March 8, March 9 and March 11 had been out there 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,” NASA stated within the weblog put up.