5 bulan yang lalu
ARTICLE AD BOX
February 20, 2026
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm
NASA conscionable passed a awesome milestone connected its ngo to return humans to nan moon
By completing a 2nd “wet dress rehearsal” of its upcoming satellite mission, NASA whitethorn beryllium connected way for a March motorboat date
By Claire Cameron
NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Join Our Community of Science Lovers!
The 2nd clip is nan charm. NASA successfully completed a awesome trial of its upcoming satellite mission, Artemis II, connected Thursday.
Known arsenic a bedewed dress rehearsal, nan trial progressive fueling nan mission’s rocket, nan Space Launch System (SLS), readying nan unit capsule and initiating a mock motorboat countdown. Its evident occurrence marked important advancement for nan agency: NASA’s first attempted bedewed dress rehearsal connected February 2 exposed respective issues pinch some nan SLS and nan Orion capsule, including hydrogen substance leaks—a problem that besides plagued nan mission’s predecessor, Artemis I.
The trial is captious to Artemis II: The SLS cannot motorboat without passing it. And nan nonaccomplishment of nan first bedewed dress rehearsal forced NASA to hold its target launch day to March astatine nan earliest.
On supporting subject journalism
If you're enjoying this article, see supporting our award-winning publicity by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to guarantee nan early of impactful stories astir nan discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
NASA has still not revealed precisely erstwhile Artemis II will launch. The ngo will spot 4 astronauts—NASA’s Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Allen—fly connected a 10-day travel that will return them connected an extended loop astir nan satellite and backmost to Earth.
Together, they will observe nan moon’s elusive farside and execute captious tests that will thief shape nan ground for Artemis III—NASA’s planned 2027 ngo to return humans to nan lunar aboveground for nan first clip successful much than half a century.
Editor’s Note (2/20/26): This is simply a processing communicative and will beryllium updated.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d for illustration to inquire for your support. Scientific American has served arsenic an advocator for subject and manufacture for 180 years, and correct now whitethorn beryllium nan astir captious infinitesimal successful that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped style nan measurement I look astatine nan world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a consciousness of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I dream it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you thief guarantee that our sum is centered connected meaningful investigation and discovery; that we person nan resources to study connected nan decisions that frighten labs crossed nan U.S.; and that we support some budding and moving scientists astatine a clip erstwhile nan worth of subject itself excessively often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get basal news, captivating podcasts, superb infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and nan subject world's champion penning and reporting. You tin moreover gift personification a subscription.
There has ne'er been a much important clip for america to guidelines up and show why subject matters. I dream you’ll support america successful that mission.
English (US) · 
Indonesian (ID) ·