NASA is making moves to prepare for the Artemis 2 mission to the moon. The Artemis 2 rocket will roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to address some technical issues. This event is set to happen on Wednesday, February 25, around 9 a.m. EST, and you can watch the journey live.
The rocket, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), is topped with the Orion spacecraft. The trip back to the assembly building will take about 12 hours over a distance of four miles, riding on the massive Crawler-Transporter 2.
Not too long ago, on February 2, a leak during a wet dress rehearsal caused a delay. NASA quickly replaced seals to fix the issue. By February 19, they completed another rehearsal successfully. But right before everything seemed to be going smoothly, a helium flow problem arose in the rocket’s upper stage. Helium is crucial for pressurizing the rocket’s propellant tanks, which hold about 730,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen combined.
Due to these complications, the March launch window is now off the table. The next possible launch opportunity will open on April 1, with additional windows available on April 3-6 and again on April 30.
When Artemis 2 finally launches, it will carry four astronauts: NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. This mission aims for a ten-day journey around the moon and back. It’s a significant step as it will be the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
In recent years, NASA’s Artemis program has ignited public interest, especially with the increasing participation of social media. People are eager to follow the moon missions and share their thoughts online. User engagement shows a growing fascination with space exploration.
The Artemis program isn’t just about reaching the moon; it aims to set the stage for future Mars missions. By sending humans back to the moon, NASA hopes to learn more about living and working in space for extended periods. The success of Artemis 2 will be a major milestone in this grand vision.
For more information on NASA’s Artemis missions, you can check out NASA’s official site.
