NASA is preparing to launch its Artemis I mission to the Moon later today but its Space Launch System rocket has been facing some fuelling issues.
There was a delay in filling the fuel tanks after a suspected hydrogen leak was spotted.
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Nasa’s communication team confirmed this delay and says tanks are still being filled.
The fuel tanks are being filled with oxygen and liquid hydrogen, which combine to make rocket fuel.
Both tanks are now over 90% full and a chance of launch is looking more likely.
The Artemis I mission is scheduled to blast off to the Moon at 8:33am ET (1:33pm BST).
The launch is expected to happen anywhere between 8:33am to 10:33am ET.
According to Flordia Today, up to 500,000 went to Cape Canaveral in Florida in an attempt to watch the launch.
What is Artemis I?
The first part of the mission to put humans back on the Moon is called Artemis I and it’s ready to launch from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Flordia on Monday, August 29.
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The mission will involve an up to 42-day tour around the Moon and back.
However, Nasa could cut short the mission if something goes wrong.
The flight will be testing out hardware so that Nasa can land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon by 2025.
That crewed mission is being referred to as Artemis III and a lot has to happen before it can take place.
Artemis I isn’t a crewed mission but it needs to loop around the Moon to test three key components.
These are Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS), its Orion spacecraft, and the European Service Module (ESM).
The Orion spacecraft and the ESM should get within 62 miles of the lunar surface and then travel 40,000 miles beyond this.
Once looping around the dark side of the Moon, the rocket should land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
Nasa completed a “wet dress rehearsal” of the SLS back in March and has changed the proposed launch date several times already.
