First human mission to the moon since 1972 set to launch

The countdown clock for Nasa’s Artemis II mission to the Moon has begun, the US Space Agency said on Monday.

At a press conference at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Monday, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director, said the mission was “in excellent shape” and even earlier than planned. 

If there are no more problems, Nasa is set to launch four astronauts to lunar orbit at 11.24pm BST (6.24pm local time) on Wednesday, the first time that humans have flown to the Moon since 1972.

The Artemis mission has suffered serious delays and is years behind schedule because of multiple technical problems, and Artemis II has already missed two launch windows. 

But the team said all of the issues had been resolved and that, barring bad weather, the rocket was ready for lift-off. 

The forecast currently has an 80 per cent chance of being fine for launch day, although the Space Coast has suffered serious downpours this week and the Miami Open final was significantly delayed on Sunday. 

Ms Blackwell-Thompson said: “We have a two hour launch window. That’s a wonderful thing, because when you look across the forecast, what they’re looking at, for the most part, is cumulus clouds. 

“I can’t guarantee it, but over the course of a two-hour window, weather can change and things can move around. And so you know, when I see an 80 per cent chance of going and a two-hour window, I feel pretty good about our chances.”

She added: “I am thrilled to say that our countdown clock picked up just a little bit ago and began counting at 4.44pm. We are just about two days away from our targeted launch day. 

“Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment.”

Ms Blackwell-Thompson said there had been minimal issues to work through in the last few days, including fixing problems with broken monitors, and in lighting the flare stack. 

The flare stack is a safety system designed to burn off excess combustible gases, such as hydrogen, released during fuelling or engine startup. 

Nasa said it was confident that hydrogen leaks which had plagued earlier launch attempts had been resolved, and that it was ‘in good shape’ for launch. 

However, they admitted that the engineering team had not completely “closed down” the issue. 

John Honeycutt, chairman of the Mission Management Team, said: “I know folks are worried. I think people in the general public worry about our hydrogen problem. 

“Obviously, we worry about our hydrogen problem. But the team did a really good job of removing and replacing that seal.

“They don’t have the fault tree totally closed down on that, but I think we’re on a good path.”

Nasa said it had also found a design flaw in a check valve which disrupted the helium supply to the rocket, which has now been fixed.

“We pounded that one flat,” Mr Honeycutt added. “We’ve got a high level of confidence that we’ve got that one now dead.”

Nasa said astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christine Koch and Jeremy Hanson were spending time with their families before launch. 

Although the four are in quarantine to make sure they do not become sick on the mission, they are allowed to see family members as long as they socially distance and wear masks. 

Some family members have quarantined the astronauts, and will be joining them for a dinner at The Beach House, a secluded two-storey wooden house at Cape Canaveral which has been traditionally used since the 60s by astronauts before missions for pre-launch gatherings. 

Emily Nelson, the chief flight director, said: “Our crew members have spent the last couple of days getting an opportunity for some rest before we work them very hard. 

“They are getting an opportunity to spend some time with their families tomorrow, they’ll get a few last-minute briefings. The crew is ready and excited to go.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]