The starting of a brand new period of house exploration must wait after an engine challenge prompted NASA to clean Monday’s launch of its next-generation moon rocket.

Preparations within the hours main as much as the deliberate 8:33 a.m. ET launch of NASA’s uncrewed SLS rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida had been going effectively. But 40 minutes from lift-off, NASA stopped the countdown clock because it tried to resolve a problem with engine quantity three on the rocket’s core stage.

The launch window remained open till 10:33 a.m. ET, however at 8:37 a.m. ET the house company determined it didn’t have sufficient time to correctly deal with the scenario and so introduced it was scrubbing Monday’s launch try.

The launch of #Artemis I is not taking place right this moment as groups work via a problem with an engine bleed. Teams will proceed to assemble knowledge, and we’ll maintain you posted on the timing of the following launch try. https://t.co/tQ0lp6Ruhv pic.twitter.com/u6Uiim2mom

— NASA (@NASA) August 29, 2022

The subsequent launch window for the Artemis I mission opens on Friday, September 2, although NASA will solely proceed if it’s in a position to resolve the engine challenge by then.

The determination to halt Monday’s countdown could have come as a significant disappointment to the massive crowds that traveled to Florida’s Space Coast to witness what would have been the launch of NASA’s strongest rocket to this point. Millions watching on-line and on TV may also have to attend longer than anticipated to see the launch.

The mission, when it will get underway, will take a look at the brand new SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft in a mission to the moon. The Orion received’t land on the lunar floor, however as a substitute fly across the celestial physique earlier than heading again to Earth in a mission lasting six weeks.

A profitable mission, by which the entire expertise performs as anticipated, will set NASA on the right track for a crewed flight taking the identical route across the moon, presumably in 2024. And then, a 12 months later, NASA will try the primary crewed lunar touchdown in 5 a long time, placing the primary girl and first particular person of coloration on the floor of the moon.

NASA’s Artemis program might additionally see people construct a moon base for long-durations stays, with data picked up from the lunar missions used for the primary crewed missions to Mars, presumably within the late 2030s.

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