NASA’s first mission to the moon in 50 years has been delayed.
On Monday, the government space agency announced its “Artemis I” launch has been postponed due to a malfunctioning RS-25 engine on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Artemis I is an uncrewed mission that is slated to be the first in a series of complex missions to the moon and is expected to lay the groundwork for future flights to Earth’s lone satellite and eventually Mars in the 2040s.
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The SLS rocket is the most powerful vehicle ever developed by NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and is the catalyst for aiming to put people back on the lunar surface after a 50-year hiatus.
The SLS’s job is to propel a test capsule, called “Orion,” into the lunar orbit. The spacecraft will then loop around the moon on a massive arc before returning home to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean after six weeks.
During the mission, SLS and Orion are expected to travel a distance of around 65,000 kilometres to the moon and back.
On Monday morning, NASA says team engineers noticed one of the engines on the Artemis I was not bleeding liquid hydrogen and oxygen as expected. The next available launch window is on Friday, September 2, but the agency has yet to officially announce a relaunch date.
The launch of #Artemis I is no longer happening today as teams work through an issue with an engine bleed. Teams will continue to gather data, and we will keep you posted on the timing of the next launch attempt. https://t.co/tQ0lp6Ruhv pic.twitter.com/u6Uiim2mom
ā NASA (@NASA) August 29, 2022
NASA had set up a livestream of the launch which was expected to take off at 8:33 am PT from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
The four-engine 322-foot-tall rocket is currently sitting on the launch pad.
With Artemis I, NASA’s hope is to inspire a new generation of lunar exploration, similar to in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the moon.
NASA says the new mission’s plan is to land the first woman and person of colour on the moon with ambitious long-term plans on setting sights toward Mars.
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