Repaired Moon Rocket to Shoot for April Launch

NASA cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs. The 322-foot rocket is scheduled to roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, the AP reports, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity's first trip to the moon in more than 50 years.

The Artemis II crew should have blasted off on a lunar flyaround earlier this year, but fuel leaks and other problems with the Space Launch System rocket interfered. Although NASA managed to plug the hydrogen fuel leaks at the pad in February, a helium-flow issue forced the space agency to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, bumping the mission to April. The space agency has only a handful of days in early April to launch before standing down until April 30 into early May.

Late last month, new NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the Artemis program. Dissatisfied with the slow pace and lengthy gaps between lunar missions, he added an extra practice flight in orbit around Earth for next year. That is now the new Artemis III, with the moon landing by two astronauts shifted to Artemis IV. Isaacman is seeking one or two lunar landings in 2028.