The NASA space agency has again postponed the launch of the Artemis I lunar mission. Initially, the launch was supposed to take place on August 29, and the second launch was planned for September 3. However, a leak of liquid hydrogen was again discovered during refueling of the first stage of the SLS rocket.

This was reported by the press service of NASA.

“The launch director abandoned the Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 11:17 a.m. ET (9:17 p.m. Kyiv — ed.),” the statement said.

The press service of NASA explained that the teams encountered a leak of liquid hydrogen during refueling of the base stage of the Space Launch System rocket. NASA plans to land astronauts on Mars by 2040

“Repeated attempts to eliminate malfunctions did not solve the problem,” added the management.

As part of the Artemis 1 test mission, the unmanned Orion spacecraft will head to the Moon and remain in orbit for several weeks. Then the ship must return to Earth and land in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of California.

The test flight should demonstrate the readiness of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft for a manned mission.

The SLS launch vehicle, developed by the Boeing Corporation, is currently the most powerful in the world. In the basic version, it is capable of launching 95 tons of payload into orbit. Prospective modifications of the launch vehicle should ensure an increase in payload to 130 tons.