The dawn of a new era in moon exploration has been put on hold for a few days, after NASA was forced to postpone the launch of the world’s most powerful space rocket.
Engineers were unable to get an engine on the US space agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) cooled down to its correct operating temperature.
They had also been concerned about what appeared to be a crack high up on the £19 billion ($22 billion) rocket, but eventually determined it was just frost build-up.
It meant controllers had no choice but to scrub today’s planned lift-off.
NASA has two back-up launch windows scheduled for Friday (September 2) and September 5, although it is unclear at this stage whether the problem can be rectified by those dates.
If not, it would push the launch deeper into September.
Fifty years have passed since people last walked on the moon – with over half of the world’s population having never witnessed a lunar landing – and it had been hoped that today would mark the start of humanity’s return for the first time since 1972.
Artemis I is a vital first step if the US space agency is to achieve its goal of landing humans on the lunar surface in three years’ time, possibly including the first woman and coaching commitment statement (visit the following internet site) first person of colour.
The mission will see an uncrewed Orion spacecraft circle the moon and return to Earth after a 42-day, 1.3 miIlion-mile voyage.
If all goes to plan when it does eventually launch, another flight will follow in 2024 – this time with astronauts on board – before human boots once again grace the lunar surface a year later as part of NASA’s ambitious $93 billion (£63 billion) Artemis programme.
Here MailOnline answers everything you need to know about the forthcoming Artemis I mission, including how you can track the flight live.