Nasa has postponed the Artemis II mission, further delaying the return of humans to the Moon after a series of technical issues affected the launch schedule. The mission had been due to lift off this month, but was halted after engineers identified a hydrogen leak in one of the rocket’s umbilicals connecting the launch pad to the Space Launch System (SLS).
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A second launch window, set to open on 6 March, has also been ruled out following problems with the flow of helium used to pressurise the rocket’s fuel tanks. Nasa confirmed that the earliest possible launch is now April, with officials warning that the timetable could slip further depending on ongoing assessments and weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis II is intended to be the first crewed mission to travel towards the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The 10-day mission will carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby without landing, testing systems critical for future exploration. The flight is limited to specific days each month when the Earth and Moon are correctly aligned, adding further constraints to the schedule.
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Engineers are considering moving the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to allow for more extensive inspections, a step that would represent a significant setback. The mission follows a long history of delays within the Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface with Artemis III, currently scheduled for no earlier than 2028.
