NASA Artemis II launch date pushed back
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NASA last sent astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo program between 1968 and 1972. Twenty-four astronauts travelled to lunar orbit, and 12 walked on the Moon’s surface.
The first Artemis moonshot with a crew is now targeted for no earlier than Feb. 8, two days later than planned.
With the wet dress rehearsal, essentially a critical fueling test of the Artemis 2 Space Launch System moon rocket, now back on Feb. 2, NASA said in a statement that it can no longer target Feb. 6 or Feb. 7, the first two days of its launch window. The Artemis 2 launch window originally ran from Feb. 6 to Feb. 10.
Frigid temperatures have delayed NASA's preparations for its wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II launch, the space agency announced Friday.