NASA Delays Moon Mission Launch After Hydrogen Leaks During Test

Feb. 3, 2026, 9:23 AM UTC

NASA is pushing the proposed launch date for its Artemis II lunar mission back to at least March after finding a hydrogen leak during a major fueling test.

The agency is delaying the liftoff to allow teams to review data and conduct a second test, which it calls a wet dress rehearsal. The crew — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — will be released from quarantine, which they entered in Houston on Jan. 21.

The mission aims to return astronauts to the vicinity of the moon for the first ...

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