WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Bernama-dpa) -- Due to unusually low temperatures and strong winds in Florida, the United States (US) space agency NASA has adjusted the launch schedule for the first manned mission to the moon in more than half a century, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The uncrewed ground test of Artemis 2, originally planned for this weekend, will now take place at the earliest at the beginning of next week, NASA said on Friday.
"NASA is targeting Monday, Feb. 2, as the tanking day for the upcoming Artemis II wet dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, as a result of weather. With this change, the first potential opportunity to launch is no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 8," NASA said in a statement.
After that, there will be numerous other launch opportunities until April.
Meteorologists are forecasting temperatures for parts of Florida this weekend that are lower than they have been in decades, with temperatures at times to go below zero degrees Celsius and the possibility of snow.
A winter storm is also forecast for other parts of the country this weekend, particularly south-eastern states such as Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. Last weekend, a devastating winter storm swept across large parts of the US.
The rocket system for Artemis 2, consisting of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule, is already in place at the launch site at Cape Canaveral. NASA engineers have adjusted the system's heating capacity in view of the temperatures.
Through its Artemis programme, NASA aims to return astronauts to the Moon this year for the first time in more than 50 years, laying the groundwork for future missions to Mars.
US astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, along with their Canadian colleague Jeremy Hansen, are scheduled to orbit the moon during the approximately 10-day mission. They have already been in quarantine in Houston, Texas, for several days.
The last time US astronauts were on the moon was in 1972.
--BERNAMA-dpa
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