US EditionPublished • loading... • Updated
NASA targets March for first moon mission by Artemis astronauts after fueling test success
Technicians fixed hydrogen leaks by replacing seals, enabling a nearly flawless fueling test and setting the earliest Artemis II launch for March 6, NASA said.
- On Friday, NASA said it could launch four astronauts on the Artemis II lunar fly-around as soon as March 6 from Florida's Kennedy Space Center after a successful rocket fueling test.
- After earlier hydrogen leaks, launch teams reported major progress between a disrupted first rehearsal and a second test without significant seepage Thursday after technicians replaced two seals.
- The countdown clocks hit the 29-second mark during the second rehearsal, while Commander Reid Wiseman and two of his crew monitored Thursday's operation alongside launch controllers.
- With a narrow March window, NASA must complete remaining checks including a flight readiness review, and the space agency has only five days in March to launch the crew aboard the Space Launch System rocket before standing down until April.
- The astronauts would be the first since Apollo 17 in 1972 to fly to the moon, and the three Americans and one Canadian will begin a mandatory two-week health quarantine Friday night.
Insights by Ground AI
Podcasts & Opinions
119 Articles
119 Articles
One News PageReposted by 
WebProNews
WebProNewsAfter Half a Century of Waiting, NASA Sets March 2026 for Humanity’s Return Trip Around the Moon
NASA has set March 6, 2026, as the target launch date for Artemis II, the first crewed mission around the Moon in over fifty years. Four astronauts will test the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day lunar flyby mission.
NASA aims to send astronauts to the Moon in March, after successfully passing the rocket's latest fuel load test. Officials announced the decision this Friday, two weeks before the first launch opportunity scheduled for March 6.
·Mexico
Read Full ArticleCoverage Details
Total News Sources119
Leaning Left19Leaning Right11Center42Last UpdatedBias Distribution58% Center
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources are Center
58% Center
L 27%
C 58%
15%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
