Artemis 1: Nasa again announces the postponement of its new moon mission

Created: 09/27/2022, 13:59

The Artemis 1 rocket © Jim WATSON / AFP

The start of the Artemis 1 moon mission was canceled again.

This was announced by NASA due to bad weather conditions.

Cape Canaveral - After the launch of the unmanned moon mission Artemis 1 was canceled due to tropical storm Ian approaching Florida, the rocket will be rolled back into its storage hangar on Monday evening, according to the US space agency Nasa.

The decision was based on the latest weather forecasts after additional data showed "no improvement in expected conditions," NASA said on Monday.

Artemis 1: Next launch window doesn't start until October 17th

The move is another setback for the unmanned lunar mission, the launch of which has already been postponed three times.

According to NASA, the transport of the 98-meter-long rocket, which is on its launch pad, should begin on Monday evening around 11:00 p.m. local time (05:00 a.m. CEST).

It is transported on a rolling platform that moves slowly so as not to damage the rocket from vibration.

Kennedy Space Center is located in Florida, from which the rocket was supposed to be launched.

Nasa had waited until the last minute, hoping to schedule a launch attempt shortly after the storm passed.

Within the current launch window, which runs until October 4th, there will now be no more opportunities to take off.

The next launch window would be October 17-31.

Artemis 1: This is how NASA should succeed in landing again on the moon

Two earlier, much-anticipated launch attempts from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida were called off in early September because of fuel leaks.

50 years after the last moon landing, NASA wants to use the Artemis 1 mission to prepare people to travel to the moon again.

The task of the Artemis 1 mission is to test the most powerful launch vehicle to date and the Orion capsule at the top under real conditions.

The follow-up mission Artemis 2 is to bring astronauts into a lunar orbit.

With Artemis 3, another moon landing should not be successful before 2025 at the earliest.