Nasa has postponed its historic Artemis II mission to send astronauts around the moon after a fuel leak was detected during a critical test of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The US space agency had planned to launch as early as next week from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but announced overnight that the mission would be delayed until March, without specifying a date.
During a two-day “wet dress rehearsal” launch-day walkthrough, engineers discovered leaking hydrogen from the SLS rocket. Teams also encountered a problem with a valve associated with the Orion capsule, where four astronauts will live and work during the 10-day mission. Nasa said it would “fully review data from the test” of the 98-metre-tall rocket.
The delay is a frustrating setback for the crew, who have been in quarantine for nearly two weeks to prevent illness before the mission. The astronauts will re-enter quarantine about two weeks before the next launch window. Nasa has previously indicated several possible launch dates between February and the end of April.
Artemis II will be the first crewed flight of the SLS rocket, following the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, which also experienced hydrogen leaks during tests. The mission will send astronauts around the moon and back, marking the first return of people to the lunar vicinity in over 50 years. Christina Koch and Victor Glover will become the first woman and first person of colour, respectively, to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
The crew includes US astronaut Reid Wiseman as commander, and Canadian physicist and fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen. If successful, Hansen will be the first non-US astronaut to travel beyond low Earth orbit. The mission paves the way for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, as part of Nasa's broader Artemis programme to establish a permanent presence on the moon.
