Space & Astronomy

NASA provides major update on Artemis II manned Moon mission

By T.K. Randall
February 3, 2026

Image: Artemis I Rollout
Credit: Joel Kowsky / (PD) NASA Those hoping to see the first crew fly around the Moon in more than five decades this month will unfortunately have to wait a little bit longer thanks to a hydrogen propellant leak during pre-launch testing.

According to NASA, the issue occurred during a wet dress rehearsal - essentially a full run-through of all the preparatory steps before launch including the fueling of the rocket itself.

The leak - which was situated between the fueling hose and the rocket - means that the launch has now had to be postponed until next month so that another wet dress rehearsal can be carried out.

Though disappointing, hopefully this will only be a minor and temporary setback.

The first manned mission to the Moon since the Apollo era, Artemis II won't actually land on the surface (that will be the next mission after this one).Instead, the flight will see a crew of four astronauts spend over a week in space to test out all the technology.

The astronauts going on the mission will be NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

They will be the first humans to venture beyond near-Earth orbit since 1972.

"They're going at least 5,000 nautical miles (9,200Km) past the Moon, which is much higher than previous missions have gone," said lead Artemis II flight director Jeff Radigan.

If successful, Artemis II will pave the way for Artemis III - the actual manned Moon landing - which should take place sometime before the end of the decade.

Source: Sky News

Tags: Artemis, Moon