NASA’s New Moon rocket sits on launch pad 39-B in Florida, waiting to shine (Credit: AP)

After calling off an Artemis rocket launch yesterday, NASA officials hope to try again this weekend.

The space agency is targeting a Friday launch window after Monday’s failed attempt.

The Artemis 1 test flight was scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, but was canceled by the launch director due to a temperature problem in one of the engines.

Artemis mission manager Michael Sarafin said the team also faced problems over the weekend, including lightning strikes and fuel leaks.

After the launch was delayed, he told a NASA news conference that the team was “not ready to give up” and that the earliest time for the next attempt would be 1 p.m. Friday.

NASA's next-generation lunar rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), with the Orion Crew capsule on top, sits on the launch pad after the launch of the Artemis I mission at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, members of the media react. , August 29, 2022. Reuters/Tom Bauer

The media gathered to capture how the launch happened (Credit: Reuters)

When asked how realistic it is to expect another attempt soon, Sarafin said: I really need time to check all the information. Play all nine innings here. He’s not ready to give up just yet.

US Vice President Kamala Harris was among those waiting to lift off at the Space Center on Monday.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told a news conference: “The vice president was here. He was pumping the whole time.”

“He’s very excited about our space program and this particular plan to go back to the moon and go to Mars.”

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Vice President Kamala Harris and Deputy Commander Doug Emhoff after landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center ahead of the launch of Artemis on August 29 in this image courtesy of NASA I get off the plane. , 2022, Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA's Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of NASA's deep space exploration system (the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and auxiliary ground system). The unmanned flight test launch is scheduled for August 29 at 8:33 am ET. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA, Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris and Vice President Doug Emhoff exit the plane after landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Launch and Landing Facility (Credit: NASA)

The 322ft (98m) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the most powerful rocket ever created, will launch the Orion capsule with Airbus’ European Service Module (ESM) into lunar orbit.

Regarding the launch delay, Nelson said: It doesn’t fly until it’s ready.

“There are millions of components in this rocket and its systems, and when you put them all in the spotlight on the counter, of course, the complexity is staggering.

epa10145213 The countdown clock of the SLS rocket carrying the Orion capsule, part of the Artemis 1 mission, hangs on minute pad T-40 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA, 29 March August 2022. The rocket's hydrogen team is in talks with the Artemis I launch manager about the plans, according to NASA. The Artemis 1 mission was an unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft and the first launch of the SLS. Artemis is the United States Space Agency's first manned mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, with the goal of landing the first female astronaut and the first black astronaut on the Moon. EPA/Cristóbal Herrera-Urashikevich EPA-EFE/Cristóbal Herrera-Urashikevich

The countdown was done at T-40 minutes (Credit: EPA)

The flight, which carries mannequins instead of astronauts, is the first time humans have returned to the moon and the first for NASA’s Artemis program.

The first manned spaceflight is scheduled for 2024, with people on board for future missions.

The UK is part of the Artemis programme, which works with the US, Europe, Canada and Japan to contribute to the Moongate space station, currently under development with the European Space Agency.

British Space Agency Chief Executive Paul Bate said it will be crazy when the rocket finally takes off.

Possible target of Project Artemis (Credit: NASA)

After Monday’s attempt, he wrote on Twitter:

“But that’s the problem, isn’t it? We’re pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and discovery.

And when you drop it, it goes crazy.

To the moon, Mars and beyond.

Humans last landed on the moon about 50 years ago, and their latest mission is to prove that humans can travel longer and more sustainably.

We will also assess whether it is possible to build infrastructure on and around the Moon that would allow humans to survive on another planetary body.

The mission will last 42 days, 3 hours and 20 minutes and will cover a total of 1.3 million miles.