NASA Delays Crew Mission To Moon After Technical Issue

WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Bernama-dpa) -- NASA has delayed the first crewed lunar mission since 1972 after technical problems forced the space agency to push back the launch of Artemis 2, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said on X on Saturday that an issue with the helium supply in one of the rocket stages needs to be addressed. 

Repair work will require moving the rocket and the Orion capsule from the Kennedy Space Centre launch pad in the US state of Florida back to the hangar, making the originally planned March launch window unattainable.

The mission had initially been scheduled for early February, but was postponed due to hydrogen leaks during testing. After a subsequent full rehearsal of the launch sequence, excluding liftoff, Isaacman described progress as significant on Friday. 

Further launch windows are expected later this year, including in early April. Artemis 2 will carry four astronauts — Americans Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — on a roughly 10-day mission around the Moon, marking the first human journey near the Moon in more than 50 years. 

The last US astronauts to visit the Moon flew there in 1972.

-- BERNAMA-DPA