NASA Postpones Historic Moon Mission After Rocket Fuel Leak Discovery
In a significant setback for the US space agency's ambitious plans, NASA has delayed its historic mission to send astronauts around the moon and back again. The Artemis II mission, set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as next week, will now be pushed back until March.
The delay came after issues arose during a critical test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, NASA's most powerful vessel yet. During an elaborate launch-day walkthrough, also known as a "wet dress rehearsal," engineers detected leaking hydrogen from the SLS. Additionally, teams encountered problems with a valve associated with the Orion capsule, which sits atop the rocket and will be occupied by four astronauts during their 10-day mission.
According to NASA, the issues were addressed during the two-day test, but the agency has decided to conduct a full review of the data collected from the event. This decision comes after similar challenges arose during the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, which was also plagued by hydrogen leaks during tests.
The crew for Artemis II includes US astronaut Reid Wiseman, who will serve as commander, and Canadian physicist Jeremy Hansen, making him the first non-US astronaut to be selected for a trip beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch and Victor Glover will become the first woman and person of color respectively to travel beyond low Earth orbit during this mission.
The Artemis II mission marks the first time astronauts will make the 685,000-mile round trip to travel around the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission is a crucial step towards NASA's ultimate goal of establishing a permanent presence on the lunar surface as part of its Artemis program.
In a significant setback for the US space agency's ambitious plans, NASA has delayed its historic mission to send astronauts around the moon and back again. The Artemis II mission, set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as next week, will now be pushed back until March.
The delay came after issues arose during a critical test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, NASA's most powerful vessel yet. During an elaborate launch-day walkthrough, also known as a "wet dress rehearsal," engineers detected leaking hydrogen from the SLS. Additionally, teams encountered problems with a valve associated with the Orion capsule, which sits atop the rocket and will be occupied by four astronauts during their 10-day mission.
According to NASA, the issues were addressed during the two-day test, but the agency has decided to conduct a full review of the data collected from the event. This decision comes after similar challenges arose during the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, which was also plagued by hydrogen leaks during tests.
The crew for Artemis II includes US astronaut Reid Wiseman, who will serve as commander, and Canadian physicist Jeremy Hansen, making him the first non-US astronaut to be selected for a trip beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch and Victor Glover will become the first woman and person of color respectively to travel beyond low Earth orbit during this mission.
The Artemis II mission marks the first time astronauts will make the 685,000-mile round trip to travel around the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission is a crucial step towards NASA's ultimate goal of establishing a permanent presence on the lunar surface as part of its Artemis program.
I mean, I know delays happen and all that, but this one feels like a major setback. Back in my day, we didn't have all the fancy tech like we do now, but we still managed to put a man on the moon! 
Now it's like they're stuck in neutral. And what's with all these leaks? Hydrogen, of course... that stuff's a fire hazard waiting to happen! 
I just hope they get it together and can send those astronauts around the moon without any more hiccups. 10-day mission, for cryin' out loud! They gotta be ready for that. 
Yeah I'm kinda shocked about this delay. First they were like "we're gonna make history with this moon trip" and now it's like hold up, let's check some valves 
. I get it, safety first and all that, but still, you'd think they would've caught those leaks during the test phase. 
. Like, it's not like NASA is just gonna pick whoever can get to the moon fastest anymore 
.
What does that even do for our chances of having a human settlement on Mars by 2050? 
so now they're pushing it back till march 
what's the real reason for this delay? wasn't the test supposed to be a "wet dress rehearsal" if that's the case why did they need to do a full review of the data collected from the event? 
source please?
are we putting our lives in the hands of humans and tech when space travel is still kinda new to us? 
I'm so hyped to see humans around the moon and back in person, not stuck watching it from the sidelines because of some minor problems with their rocket fuel. 
It's like they're playing with fire here...
.
.
I'm sure it's frustrating for everyone involved, but on the other hand, is rushing into this too fast? What if they hadn't caught that leak during testing? 
I was really stoked about that Artemis II mission 
it sounds like they've got some major technical issues to iron out 
hopefully they can get it sorted by March 
fingers crossed for our astronaut crew 
Reid, Jeremy, Christina, and Victor - you guys are gonna make history, even if it's a bit later than planned 
. like, what's goin on over at nasa? 
they had issues with hydrogen leaks and a valve problem in the orion capsule 
. anyway, i guess it's good that they're being careful and all, but still... i was really looking forward to seeing some new faces on space tv 
This delay isn't exactly what we needed right now. I mean, we've all been waiting for this moment for years, and it keeps getting pushed back 
, but can't they at least try to give us a rough timeline? 