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NASA Delays Moon Mission by One Month

February 3, 2026 - NASA announced that the Artemis II mission will be delayed. Four astronauts were planning to fly around the Moon, but now they must wait until March.

What happened?

On Monday, NASA did an important test called a “wet dress rehearsal.” During this test, they put fuel into the rocket. But they found several problems.

The biggest problem was a hydrogen leak. Hydrogen is the fuel for the rocket. It is very cold and the molecules are very tiny. They can escape through small holes.

Who are the astronauts?

Four astronauts are waiting to make this historic trip: - Reid Wiseman (American) - Victor Glover (American) - Christina Koch (American) - Jeremy Hansen (Canadian)

They were already in quarantine, but now they have returned to Houston, Texas. They will enter quarantine again before the new launch date.

What other problems did they find?

The test discovered more issues: - A valve in the Orion capsule needed extra work - The hatch took longer to close than expected - Some cameras stopped working because of cold weather - There were audio problems with the radios

Why is this mission special?

Artemis II will be the first time humans have traveled to the Moon since 1972. That’s more than 50 years ago! The astronauts will fly around the Moon for ten days, but they will not land on it.

This mission is practice for Artemis III, which will actually land people on the Moon’s surface.

What is the new plan?

NASA will fix all the problems and do another test. The earliest new launch date is March 6, 2026. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said that safety is the top priority.

“We will only launch when we are ready,” he wrote on social media.

Vocabulary Help

• delay = to make something happen later
• astronaut = a person who travels to space
• fuel = liquid or gas that makes machines work
• leak = when liquid or gas escapes through a hole
• quarantine = staying alone to avoid getting sick
• historic = very important in history

Grammar Focus

• Past simple: “NASA announced”, “They found”
• Future with “will”: “They will wait”, “NASA will fix”
• Comparatives: “longer than expected”