NASA postpones Artemis II moon mission until March after critical test glitches

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NASA's Artemis II launch rehearsal hit a wall

NASA delayed Artemis II Moon mission raises questions after important test

NASA will review data collected during a simulated launch of the Artemis II rocket before revealing a new date for its upcoming Moon mission.

The moon is seen shining next to the SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft above the Mobile Launcher on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 28, 2026.

NASA has delayed it upcoming moon missions At least until March after an important test of Artemis II Rocket.

NASA said Tuesday that the mission’s wet dress rehearsal, which included fueling the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and then starting the countdown, had revealed problems with both the rocket and the Orion capsule, which is to house the four astronauts who will fly on board.

Actually, this important test Artemis IIThe system was not running smoothly: A few hours after refueling the rocket, the SLS appeared to be leaking liquid hydrogen from its core stage, which houses its main engines. This caused NASA to temporarily stop loading propellant to the rocket to resolve the problem. And later, a valve on the Orion capsule malfunctioned, while engineers also tried to troubleshoot multiple dropouts of the ground teams’ audio communications channels.


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Fuel leaks have troubled the SLS in the past. Artemis I, predecessor mission Artemis IIIt also suffered fuel leaks during its wet dress rehearsal and at other points in the lead-up to the mission, delaying its launch by several weeks.

Artemis II The four astronauts will fly a 10-day orbit around the moon and return to Earth, going further into space than any human before. The mission is currently set to be launched before March.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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