NASA Is Delaying Its Artemis II Mission Around The Moon

Engineers discovered leaking hydrogen at the base of the space launch system rocket.

NASA announced it is delaying its mission to send four astronauts on a journey around the moon.

Mission managers were conducting an elaborate launch day walk-through at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During that, engineers discovered leaking hydrogen at the base of the space launch system rocket.

Due to the issues detected, NASA said it would forgo this month’s launch window for the Artemis II Mission around the moon, which extended from Friday through February 11, to allow teams to review data and conduct another rehearsal.

NASA said it will now aim for March “as the earliest possible launch opportunity.” The astronauts planned for the mission had been in quarantine since January 21. They will now be released from quarantine with plans for them to enter again around two weeks before the next targeted launch opportunity.