NASA began conducting a major fuel test for its Artemis II mission on Monday, the agency said, in a key exercise that could pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon’s vicinity for the first time since 1972.
With the first crewed mission planned for 2028, this exercise is essential to ensure astronaut safety and mission success. (Reuters/Representative Image)Engineers will fully fuel the Space Launch System rocket at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, simulating the major steps the team will perform on launch day.
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The target is the Boeing Co. Artemis II. Ensuring that the Space Launch System rocket and its Lockheed Martin Corporation Orion spacecraft can make the 10-day journey to the moon and back home.
During the test, which NASA calls a wet dress exercise, the teams will practice loading ice-cold fuel into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown and safely remove the propellant.
The earliest launch opportunity is February 8, but NASA will wait until rehearsals are complete to set an official launch date.
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During the test, the engineering team will stop firing the rocket’s engines because the boosters can only fire once, said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist who recently retired from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“The wet dress isn’t quite the gold standard, but it’s about as good as you can get as a body design,” he said.
In development for nearly a decade and a half, SLS is over budget and behind schedule. Each launch costs more than $4 billion.
Artemis II will be only the second flight for SLS and Orion, following their debut in 2022 with Artemis I. That first mission required several wet dress rehearsals due to technical issues.
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The crew of NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen will not be present for Monday’s exercise as they must quarantine before takeoff.
Their mission will test Orion’s life-support systems before Artemis III begins a crewed lunar landing, which is planned for later in 2028.
This story appeared from a wire agency feed without text changes.
