Nasa has said 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 said 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.
But NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced on Saturday that setbacks would mean that further maintenance would have to be carried out.
Four astronauts are preparing to be sent on the 10-day trip to the far side of the Moon and back, marking humanity’s furthest ever journey into space.
Isaacman said he understood “that people are disappointed by this development”, after almost 50-hours of checks on Thursday revealed 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.
Disruption to helium, which is used to pressurise fuel tanks and cool rocket systems, is treated as a serious technical issue, according to Nasa.
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”.
But space missions are often fraught with setbacks, Isaaman said, highlighting that Neil Armstrong’s 1966 Gemini 8 mission ended prematurely due to a technical issue, before his historic moon landing three years later.
Three US astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hanse, are due to take off in the mega Moon rocket, which will allow them several hours to study the moon’s surface up close.
