NASA is postponing the planned launch of its Artemis II mission until at least March after engineers detected a hydrogen leak during a key fueling exercise.
The agency said the delay will give teams time to analyze the data and repeat the procedure in a second “wet dress rehearsal.” As a result, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency will exit quarantine, which began in Houston on Jan. 21.
Artemis II is designed to send astronauts around the moon for the first time since 1972. During this week’s test, officials encountered multiple technical issues, including an increase in the hydrogen leak, a problem with a valve tied to hatch pressurization, and intermittent audio disruptions, according to NASA.
The rehearsal is meant to confirm that the Artemis II launch system, using the Space Launch System rocket built by Boeing (BA) and the Orion spacecraft developed by Lockheed Martin (LMT) can safely support a roughly 10-day mission that loops around the moon and returns to Earth.
NASA also plans to use the mission to further validate Orion’s life-support systems ahead of Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface later this decade.