NASA Lunar Mission: Second Test Success

After technical problems during the first major ground test of the rocket system for the manned lunar mission “Artemis 2”, the US space agency Nasa carried out a second test run. The authority wanted to announce more information about its results and a possible new start date for the mission at a press conference today (from 5 p.m. CET).

Hydrogen leaks occurred at the beginning of February at the first such dress rehearsal at the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida, where all processes except for the actual launch are tested. Seals were then replaced, NASA said. During another smaller test, the hydrogen filling still did not work as planned. A filter system was then replaced, which was suspected to be the possible cause of the problems.

Not starting before March

NASA had originally given the earliest possible start date for the mission as February 6th. The authority recently assumed it would start in March at the earliest.

With the “Artemis 2” mission, people are expected to fly near the moon again this year for the first time in more than half a century. The US astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman as well as their Canadian colleague Jeremy Hansen are supposed to orbit the moon on the approximately ten-day mission. The last time US astronauts were on the moon was in 1972.

RND/dpa