NASA plans to make a second attempt on Saturday to launch a new rocket (SLS) to the moonfive days after the first failed attempt on Mondayas stated by its officials.

The first attempt failed after a number of technical problems were identified that jeopardized the mission.

A 209-meter SLS rocket is planned to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The unmanned Orion capsule will make a six-week test flight around the moon and return back to Earth.

The long-awaited launch will activate NASA’s Artemis space program to fly from the Moon to Mars, replacing the Apollo program of lunar space missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

The first flight of the new Orion launch system and capsule is codenamed Artemis I, with the goal of performing a multi-stage test flight of the 2.87 million ton spacecraft before NASA makes a decision on its suitability for manned flight launches.

NASA’s initial attempt to launch the Artemis I mission on Monday was aborted after a cooling problem was discovered in one of the SLS’s central stage engines, forcing the US space agency to put the launch countdown on hold.

At a press conference yesterday, NASA officials said they hope the issues identified will be resolved by the time the relaunch attempt is made on Saturday.

Source: Reuters, APE-MPE.