NASA suspends launch of Artemis I due to fuel leaks

Everything was ready at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral for the launch of Artemis, the mission that was to return to the Moon after the end of the Apollo Program 50 years ago. But finally it has had to be postponed since, according to NASA, some technical failures related to a fuel leak have been detected. Now 2 alternative dates are being considered, September 2 or 5.

About the mission, it should be noted that this is the largest rocket that has ever been sent to the satellite. The 98-meter-high infrastructure includes the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

In addition, the capsule is planned to travel even further than in the 1970s, reaching 64,000 kilometers from the far side of the Moon.

This first trip is an unmanned flight test and its objective is to analyze the situation on the ground so that later, in about two or three years, human beings can be sent to the satellite again.

It is estimated that it will not be until, at least in 2024, when a human being returns to the Moon. And history will be made again. Because the first woman and the first African-American person will be sent.

“Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test and is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions, which provides a foundation for human exploration of deep space,” explained Rosa Ávalos Warren, Manager of the Goddard Space Flight Center at NASA, in statements to the Voice of America.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. The last time such a mission was carried out was 50 years ago, in 1972 during Apollo 17, and since then a lunar trip has not been made again.

Now a team from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working on this project to analyze the conditions of the lunar soil to establish a base for trips to Mars in the future.

“We are going with much more security. All the materials, the technology are advancing and now it is much safer to go to the Moon,” said Fernando Carcaboso, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

On this first trip there are no human beings on board, although there will be almost 55 kilos of items used by the Apollo 11 astronauts and three mannequins, one of them as a tribute to a Hispanic.

“In honor of the Mexican-American engineer Arturo Campos who played a key role in rescuing the astronauts of the failed Apollo 13 mission,” revealed Ávalos.

The expectation for the launch has not only been lived to the surface at NASA, but also in some neighboring cities. For example, in Titusville, the closest town to the launch pad facilities, more than two hundred thousand people have gathered in the hope of seeing this historic launch. But, finally, they will have to wait for those new two dates that, for now, the United States space agency is testing.

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