Nasa astronauts' moon mission delayed because of rocket i...

What’s Happening

Alright so The mission to the far side of the Moon and back will be postponed after problems with were spotted with its rocket, a Nasa official dropped.

Nasa astronauts moon mission delayed because of rocket issue 9 hours ago Save Rachel Muller-Heyndyk Save EPA/ Nasa has dropped that its 6 March launch day for its long-awaited lunar mission is now “out of consideration”, after it spotted several last minute issues during routine checks that would prevent lift off. On Friday, the space agency dropped that its Artemis II mission, which would see astronauts sent to the moon for the first time in 50 years, would likely have the green light to launch within a matter of weeks. (shocking, we know)

But NASA administrator Jared Isaacman just dropped on Saturday that setbacks would mean that further maintenance would have to be carried out.

The Details

Four astronauts are preparing to be sent on the 10-day trip to the far side of the Moon and back, marking humanitys furthest ever journey into space. Isaacman dropped he understood “that people are disappointed ”, after almost 50-hours of checks on Thursday spilled no faults.

The agency felt almost certain that its “wet rehearsal” had been a success, leading the team to announce that the launch could take place as soon as 6 March. But overnight on Friday, engineers observed an interruption in the flow of helium required for launch operations.

Why This Matters

Disruption to helium, which is used to pressurise fuel tanks and cool rocket systems, is treated as a serious technical issue, according to Nasa. Nasa targets early March to send humans back around the Moon The test was the scientists second attempt at a practice run at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, having fixed earlier issues with filters and seals that had led to hydrogen leaks. The rocket was fuelled with around 730,000 ​gallons of propellant over several hours on Thursday, with the team stating that the simulation felt like “a big step in us earning our right to fly”.

Scientists and researchers are watching this development closely.

The Bottom Line

The rocket was fuelled with around 730,000 ​gallons of propellant over several hours on Thursday, with the team stating that the simulation felt like “a big step in us earning our right to fly”.

Thoughts? Drop them below.