NASA delays Artemis 2 moon mission to March due to liquid hydrogen leak

Feb 3 (Reuters) – NASA said on Tuesday it was targeting a March window to launch its Artemis ​2 mission to send four astronauts around the Moon after a delay in this week’s departure caused by a liquid hydrogen leak during a “wet dress rehearsal.”

The mission is the second in the multibillion-dollar Artemis lunar program, following an uncrewed flight in 2022, and the first to carry astronauts around the Moon on a 10-day journey to the farthest point humans have ever ventured into space.

The leak took place in “an interface” used to route the cryogenic propellant to the central stage of the rocket,” NASA said, adding that it would release the astronauts, quarantined since January 21, for the planned launch.

“These tests are designed to surface problems before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in an article on X.

“We plan to do an additional ‘wet dress rehearsal’ and then target the March window.”

The mission, composed of three American astronauts and a Canadian, is a test precursor to the first moon landing by an astronaut from the agency since 1972.

“With more than three years between Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges,” Isaacman said. “This is precisely why we are having a ‘wet dress rehearsal’.”

The test also saw intermittent ground audio cutouts and prolonged closeout operations for the mission’s Orion crew capsule, it added.

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; editing by Clarence Fernandez)