NASA announced on Tuesday that it is moving forward with the launch of Artemis II moon landing mission in March after a fuel leak was discovered during testing this week.

The 10-day manned mission aims to carry astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The mission is scheduled to launch from launch site 39B NASA Kennedy Space Center Located in Florida, the Space Launch System is the most powerful rocket the agency has ever built.

“NASA concluded a wet rehearsal for the agency’s Artemis 2 test flight early Tuesday morning, successfully loading cryogenic propellant into SLS (Space Launch System) tanks, sending a team to the launch pad to shut down Orion (the spacecraft), and safely empty the rocket. Wet rehearsals are pre-launch tests that fuel the rocket and are designed to identify any issues and resolve them before attempting to launch.” NASA said.

“Engineers overcame multiple challenges and achieved many program goals during the two-day test. To allow the team to review data and conduct a second wetsuit rehearsal, NASA is now targeting March as the earliest launch opportunity for flight testing,” it added.

After more than 50 years, NASA plans to send humans back to deep space through the Artemis 2 lunar mission

In the early morning hours of Sunday, February 1, 2026, a full moon illuminated NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Sam Lott/NASA via AP)

NASA said earlier this morning “Due to a liquid hydrogen leak at the tail service mast umbilical cord interface, the Artemis 2 wet fit rehearsal countdown was terminated at T-5 minutes and 15 seconds. Early in the countdown, the tail service mast umbilical cord also experienced high concentrations of liquid hydrogen.”

“Canceling the February launch window also means that the Artemis 2 astronauts will be released from quarantine when they enter Houston on January 21,” NASA said. “As a result, they will not travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday as tentatively planned. The crew will enter quarantine again approximately two weeks after their next target launch opportunity.”

The agency did not reveal a formal release target for March, saying the team would first need to “comprehensive review of test data, mitigate each issue, and then return to testing.” Before Tuesday’s delay, NASA could land Commander Reed Wiseman and his crew on the moon as early as Sunday.

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NASA’s Artemis II is in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 16, 2026. (Joe Reddell/Getty Images)

At noon Monday, launch controllers began loading ultra-cold hydrogen and oxygen into the 322-foot-tall rocket. More than 700,000 gallons of water must flow into storage tanks and remain on board for several hours, mimicking the final stages of an actual countdown.

But excess hydrogen quickly accumulated near the bottom of the rocket. Hydrogen loading was paused at least twice as the launch team scrambled to use technology developed last time to solve the problem. Space Launch System Countdown 2022. The first test flight was plagued by a hydrogen leak and ultimately soared without a crew.

Artemis II followed The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission will provide a critical test of NASA’s deep space systems before astronauts attempt to reach the moon on future flights.

On Sunday, February 1, 2026, NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket appeared with the Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (AP/John Rau)

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NASA said the mission is a critical step toward long-term lunar exploration and the ultimate goal of manned mission to mars.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Weiner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.