How difficult it is to go back to the Moon…
The Artemis II Lunar mission suffered another setback, as it is expected to miss the March launch window.
After overnight data showed an interruption in helium flow in the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage, teams are troubleshooting and preparing for a likely rollback of Artemis II to the VAB at @NASAKennedy. This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window. @NASA will…
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 21, 2026
Reuters reported:
“NASA is taking steps to potentially roll back the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft to its Vehicle Assembly Building after observing an interrupted flow of helium, the space agency said on Saturday. ‘This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window’, NASA said.”
Sky News reported:
“On Friday night, however, NASA discovered that the flow of helium – which is required for launch – to the rocket had been interrupted during a key part of the preparation process.
[…] Before the setback, the agency had announced that it was targeting 6 March to launch four astronauts around the moon and back.”
Humans are finally going past low Earth orbit again after 53 years as Artemis II sends four astronauts around the Moon on a 10 day trip, bringing deep space travel back at last 🌕
— Tansu Yegen (@TansuYegen) February 18, 2026
“The Artemis missions are part of NASA’s long-term plans to build a space station – called Lunar Gateway – where astronauts will be able to live and work and prepare for missions to Mars.
[…] When the 10-day mission is able to go ahead, it will see the crew testing life support, navigation, and communication systems to confirm everything operates as it should in deep space.”
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