Nasa’s Artemis II rocket begins slow crawl to launchpad in preparation for moon fly-by

Moon orbit program, preceding planned landing in 2028, has been delayed due to fuel leaks and clogged helium lines

For the second time this year, Nasa moved its moon rocket from the hangar out toward the launchpad on Friday in hopes of sending four astronauts on a lunar fly-around next month.

If the latest repairs work and everything else goes Nasa’s way, the Space Launch System could blast off as early as 1 April from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis II crew went into quarantine this week in Houston in preparation for blastoff.