NASA sets March 6 as earliest moon mission opportunity

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — NASA’s Artemis II team says that after a successful test launch countdown Thursday night, they can press on with the moon mission no earlier than March 6.

A key will be the Flight Readiness Review at the end of next week.

The team conducted a successful wet dress rehearsal on Thursday, a full simulated launch day countdown including fully fueling the Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center.

They say the liquid hydrogen seal issues that plagued the first wet dress rehearsal performed well.

The replacements revealed just a 1% leak rate, far within specifications and not concerning.

The team says that the rehearsal was a success, as it is continuing to work through the challenges revealed during the first test earlier this month.

“The hardware was talking to us, so we listened, and the mediation activities we took turned out really well,” said John Honeycutt, Chair, Artemis II Mission Management Team.

NASA also says it has addressed the ground systems communications issue that it had during the rehearsal.

It has back-up radios if needed, should the problem come up again.

The team says after the successful test, the reality of going back to the moon gets stronger.

“Every night I look at the moon, and I see it, and I get real excited, because I can really feel she’s calling us, and we’re ready,” says Lori Glaze, Acting Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems.

If the Flight Readiness Review goes well and a launch date is set, the crew will head from Houston to Kennedy Space Center not long after.