PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA mission leaders on Monday will address the latest postponement of a wet dress rehearsal for Artemis I, after multiple attempts, for the lunar mission.
What You Need To Know
- After latest scrub of a wet dress rehearsal, NASA to discuss status of Artemis I
- Thursday is the next possible date for a wet dress rehearsal
- A faulty valve and a “small” hydrogen leak need to be repaired, NASA says
- The spacecraft is being rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building
The Artemis mission’s focus is on moon exploration. This first mission, although launching without a crew, is a major step toward that goal.
A faulty valve and a “small” hydrogen leak will be repaired when the spacecraft is rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building.
We'll give an update on our @NASAArtemis I Moon mission Monday, April 18, at 3pm ET (19:00 UTC).
— NASA (@NASA) April 17, 2022
Upgrades are needed by an off-site supplier. We'll use the time to roll the rocket back, make repairs & review next steps.
Get info & media RSVP info at: https://t.co/lWv2aEYIQR pic.twitter.com/XzUjtR8eGV
On Friday, chief engineer John Blevins said a next dress rehearsal, which would be the final one before launch, could happen this week.
“We talked about the art of possibly moving forward, and we’ve got a couple of options in front of us,” Blevins said. “We’re preserving the option to reattempt a wet dress as early as next week. Thursday (April) the 21st is the earliest time the team is comfortable."
NASA wants long-term human-robotic presence on and around the moon. Another eventual goal is to land the first woman on the moon and the first person of color on the moon.
There’s currently no set date for an Artemis I launch, yet.