NASA said on Tuesday that the launch of its new moon rocket will now take place in March. Actually, on Monday, the test of filling fuel in the rocket was being done, but then the problem of gas leaking occurred. Due to this technical glitch, NASA had to extend the launch date.
Challenges encountered during testing
When the team started filling extremely cold hydrogen and oxygen gas into this huge rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, within a few hours the gas started leaking from the bottom of the rocket. Work had to be halted twice while refilling some 7 lakh gallons of fuel, bringing back memories of three years ago when a similar leak significantly delayed the rocket’s maiden flight. This time, not only the gas leaked, but the team members were also facing difficulty in communicating with each other and it took a lot of time to complete the work. In view of all these problems, NASA has said that now they will get the right opportunity to examine the data in depth and correct the shortcomings, so that safety can be ensured by conducting a complete refueling test once again before the actual flight.
effects on astronauts
The four astronauts selected for this mission (three of which are from America and one from Canada) were living in isolation i.e. ‘quarantine’ for the last two weeks. But now due to the postponement of the launch date, he has been sent home for the time being. As relaunch time approaches in March, these passengers will return to quarantine about two weeks before the flight. Let us tell you that when the rocket test was going on on Monday, these four passengers were sitting in Houston and keeping a close eye on the entire process.
What is the objective of this mission?
This mission will last for about 10 days, in which astronauts will go to the part of the Moon that is not visible to us from Earth (called ‘Far Side’), and then return directly to Earth from there. The biggest objective of this journey is to check whether the arrangements for survival of the passengers and other machines inside the spacecraft are working properly or not. In fact, after the ‘Apollo missions’ of the 1960s and 70s, NASA now aims to settle humans on the Moon for a long time. If this mission is successful, it will clear the way for astronauts to land on the moon in the future.
the way forward
NASA has not yet given any firm date for March. Experts say that due to extreme cold, there was very little time left for the launch in February. Now the NASA team will first thoroughly examine the old mistakes and data, remove all the shortcomings and only then start preparing for the next test.
