Chilly Day For Artemis 2 Wet Dress Rehearsal
NASA’s next giant leap toward the moon isn’t just a matter of rockets and astronauts, it’s also a race against the weather.
Before four astronauts can blast off on the Artemis II mission, NASA is running through one last, crucial practice: a “wet dress rehearsal” today.
Engineers will fully fuel the rocket and step through every phase of launch day, stopping just 30 seconds before liftoff.
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The stakes are high. Artemis II is scheduled to launch by Sunday, February 8 at the latest, sending its crew on a 10-day journey around the moon. It’s the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years, and there are only a handful of launch windows each month when the Earth, moon and spacecraft all line up just right.
And then there’s Florida’s weather, which has been anything but cooperative. Near-freezing conditions already forced NASA’s hand once.
The original fueling test was scheduled for Saturday, January 31, but was called off days before because the cold posed risks to rocket systems. Extreme cold can affect everything from seals and valves to fuel flow, making it a serious concern for a vehicle this complex.
Meteorologist Sara Tonks points to a string of record-breaking mornings along Florida’s Space Coast. Melbourne, Florida dropped to 32 degrees on January 29, about 20 degrees colder than normal for that date.
It wasn’t a one-off, either. Daily low temperature records were broken on January 26, 27, 29, 31, and February 1. Another freeze warning is in effect tonight into tomorrow morning as temperatures dip back into the 30s.
To adapt, NASA has been leaning on heaters to keep the Orion capsule warm at the top of the rocket, while also modifying rocket-purging systems to handle the chill.
Timing is now incredibly tight. Because of orbital mechanics, NASA has only three viable launch days left in February to send Artemis II around the moon and back before slipping into March. Mission managers say the moonshot will take priority if it can lift off by February 11, the final launch opportunity this month.
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