NASA wants to put people on the moon again.Image: keystone
There are new technical problems before the planned launch of the US space agency Nasa’s manned lunar mission “Artemis 2”.
02/15/2026, 06:3302/15/2026, 06:33
During a test at the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida, the hydrogen filling of the “Space Launch System” rocket did not work as planned, NASA said. The responsible engineers would now replace a filter system that was suspected to be the possible cause of the problems.
A second so-called “wet dress rehearsal” is then planned for February, during which all processes will be tested except for the actual start. At the first such dress rehearsal – which had to be postponed for a few days due to exceptionally low temperatures and strong winds in the US state of Florida – hydrogen leaks occurred at the beginning of February. Seals were then replaced, NASA said.
Not starting before March
NASA originally set the earliest possible start date for the mission as February 6th. The authority now expects it to start in March at the earliest.
With the “Artemis 2” mission, people will 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. (sda/dpa)