NASA chief Jared Isaacman says Artemis 2 – the first crewed flyby mission to the moon in more than 50 years – will not launch next month because of technical problems.

Workers detected an issue with helium flow to the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will “take the March launch window out of consideration”, Issacman said in a post on social media Saturday.

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Solid helium flow is essential for purging the rocket’s engines and pressurising its fuel tanks.

“I understand people are disappointed by this development. That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor,” Isaacman said.

NASA’s next opportunity for the launch would be at the beginning or end of April.

The US space agency hopes to put humans back on the moon as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.

China’s uncrewed Chang’e 7 mission is expected to be launched in 2026 for an exploration of the moon’s south pole, and testing of its crewed spacecraft Mengzhou is also set to go ahead this year.

Multiple postponements

NASA surprised many late last year when it said Artemis 2 could happen as soon as February – an acceleration explained by the administration of US President Donald Trump’s wish to beat China to the punch.

But the programme has been plagued by delays. The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission took place in November 2022 after multiple postponements and two failed launch attempts.

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Then, technical problems in early February – which included a liquid hydrogen leak – cut short a so-called wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis 2 launch. That was finally completed earlier this week.

The wet dress rehearsal was conducted under real conditions – with full rocket tanks and technical checks – at Cape Canaveral in Florida, with engineers practising the manoeuvres needed to carry out an actual launch.

The space agency revealed the latest technical problem just one day after targeting March 6 for the launch of the Artemis 2 mission.

The towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will be rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to investigate the technical issues and make any necessary repairs, Isaacman said. He said a bad filter, valve, or connection plate could be to blame for the stalled helium flow.

Isaacman added that a complete briefing will follow in the coming days.

The goal of the Artemis 2 mission, a 10-day flight around the moon and back, is to “explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars”, according to NASA.

The planned Artemis 2 crew includes three US astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch – and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission is poised to be the farthest human flight into space ever, and the first crewed moon mission since the US Apollo programme more than half a century ago.

Artemis 2 is a precursor to NASA’s planned astronaut moon landing with Artemis 3, which is scheduled for 2028.