NASA has had to stop its highly anticipated Artemis 1 Moon mission after it encountered problems at the fueling stage.

Nasa communications just said the launch has had to be stopped due to an “engine leak”.

Nasa's Artemis 1 mission will no longer launch on August 29

2

Nasa’s Artemis 1 mission will no longer launch on August 29Credit: Zuma Press

2

The launch of the huge Space Launch System rocket, along with the unmanned Orion capsule and European Service Module, was stopped hours ahead of launch on Monday 29.

Artemis I was originally expected to blast off at 8:33am ET (1:33pm BST) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

A new launch time has not yet been set, but Nasa will not be launching today.

The mission will likely be pushed back to either September 2 or September 5.

Nasa's Artemis I Moon rocket faces 'fuelling issues' on launchpad
Inside Nasa's Artemis 1 moon mission from passengers to the launch time

Problems arose with the Space Launch System rocket when fueling began and a suspected leak was spotted.

Engineers discovered a possible crack in a flange on the core stage.

The launch faced delays due to weather and fueling this morning but has now been canceled completely.

At one point rocket engine number three was still too warm for launch and engineers desperately tried to cool it down.

Most read in Tech

Stormy weather had already set the team back early on Monday.

The current countdown is being held at T-minus 40 minutes, with another scheduled hold set to take place at the 10-minute mark.

It’s at this point that Nasa will announce a new launch time.

According to Flordia Today, up to 500,000 went to Cape Canaveral in Florida in an attempt to watch the launch.

Find out more about science

Want to know more about the weird and wonderful world of science? From the Moon to the human body, we have you covered…

  • When is the next Full Moon?
  • What is a Super Moon?
  • What is SpaceX?
  • Where is the edge of space?
  • How many bones are in the human body?
  • How many chromosomes do humans have?
  • What causes a volcano to erupt?
  • Which sharks attack the most humans?
  • What are the conspiracy theories about the world ending?
  • All the UFO sightings and whether aliens are real
  • Which country has the most earthquakes?

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk

You May Also Like

The world is done with Wife Guys. Thank goodness for that | Arwa Mahdawi

The story of a philandering star drew attention to an archetype based…

Why Amazon’s home security drone should set off alarm bells

Given the Ring brand’s poor record on privacy, why would anyone allow…

Solar eclipse conspiracy theories – from a mythical sun-eating beast to doomsday predictions

A PARTIAL solar eclipse will be gracing the sky this Thursday with…

PC gamers rush to pick up a 9/10 game being given away completely free

WHILE the cost of gaming is rising, we’re lucky enough that every…