NASA Sets March 6 as Earliest Date to Send Astronauts on Lunar Mission

SadaNews - The U.S. space agency (NASA) expressed new optimism after a second ground test of its mission to send a crew around the moon next month revealed significant progress following previous technical issues.

Jared Taylor Ishakman, the director of NASA, stated in a post on the "X" platform that the second rehearsal of what is called the wet test - a full simulation of the launch countdown without the actual launch - represented a "major step toward America's return to the lunar environment."

Lori Glaze, a director at NASA, noted that addressing the issues encountered during previous tests proved effective.

She added that almost all procedures were completed as planned and within the expected timeframe, although some issues still need to be addressed, according to the German news agency.

NASA indicated that the earliest possible launch date is now March 6 of the coming month.

The crew is expected to undergo quarantine today, Friday.

The Artemis 2 mission is set to send astronauts to the lunar vicinity for the first time in more than half a century.