Latest / Space News Today / NASA Stands Down: Artemis 2 Crew Released as Rocket Heads Back to the Hangar

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NASA Stands Down: Artemis 2 Crew Released as Rocket Heads Back to the Hangar · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily
• 0:03
  guide to what's happening in the cosmos.
• 0:05
  I'm Anna.
• 0:06
  >> And I'm Avery. It is Monday, February
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  23rd, 2026, and we have got a jam-packed
• 0:12
  show for you today.
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  >> We really do. We're kicking off with
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  some big Aremis news. And I mean big.
• 0:19
  The moon rocket is on the move again,
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  but not in the direction anyone was
• 0:23
  hoping for. We also have a fascinating
• 0:26
  story about Jupiter's moon Europa, a
• 0:28
  record-breaking SpaceX milestone, a
• 0:31
  launch happening literally today, some
• 0:33
  surprising new science from Mars, and
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  the spectacular sky watching event you
• 0:38
  won't want to miss tonight.
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  >> All that coming right up. Let's get into
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  it.
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  >> We start today with the story that has
• 0:44
  dominated space news over the weekend.
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  NASA's Aremis 2 moon rocket, the one
• 0:49
  that was sitting on the launchpad at
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  Kennedy Space Center, ready to send four
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  astronauts around the moon, has been
• 0:55
  ordered back to the garage.
• 0:57
  >> That's right. Engineers discovered a
• 1:00
  problem with helium flow to the rocket's
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  upper stage, specifically the interim
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  cryogenic propulsion stage. And the
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  issue simply can't be fixed out on the
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  pad. The rocket needs to roll back into
• 1:12
  the vehicle assembly building, which is
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  about a four-mile journey, and that's
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  expected to happen as early as tomorrow,
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  February 24th, weather permitting.
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  >> So, what does this mean for the mission
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  timeline? Last week, we were talking
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  about March 6th, as the launch date.
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  >> March 6th is now officially off the
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  table. The good news, if there is good
• 1:32
  news here, is that NASA says the quick
• 1:35
  decision to begin roll back preparations
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  potentially preserves an April launch
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  window. But that's dependent on what
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  they find when they get the rocket back
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  inside and how quickly the repair work
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  goes.
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  >> And what about the crew? Reed Wisman,
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  Victor Glover, Christina Ko, and Jeremy
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  Hansen. They had actually entered
• 1:55
  pre-flight quarantine at around 5 in the
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  afternoon on Friday. They were days away
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  from heading to Kennedy Space Center.
• 2:01
  >> Yes, they were released from quarantine
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  on the evening of Saturday, February
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  21st, and they're all back in Houston
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  now. NASA confirmed they'll re-enter
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  quarantine approximately 2 weeks before
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  the next targeted launch date whenever
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  that's confirmed. NASA has also said
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  they'll hold a media event in the coming
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  days to give a fuller update on the roll
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  back and revised plans. It's frustrating
• 2:25
  news for everyone following the Aremis
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  program, but the right call. You don't
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  want helium flow issues on a rocket
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  that's about to send four people around
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  the moon.
• 2:34
  >> Absolutely not. We'll keep you updated
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  as this develops. April, it seems, is
• 2:38
  the new target.
• 2:40
  >> From mission delays to genuinely
• 2:42
  exciting science, new research published
• 2:45
  today is giving a major boost to the
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  idea that Jupiter's moon Europa could be
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  a habitable world. Scientists have found
• 2:52
  evidence that salty, nutrient-rich ice
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  on Europa's surface can actually sink
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  down through the moon's ice shell to
• 2:59
  reach the subsurface ocean below.
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  >> And that's a big deal because one of the
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  long-standing questions about Europa's
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  habitability has been whether the ocean
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  is a closed isolated system cut off from
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  any energy or chemistry or whether it
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  gets fed with fresh material from
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  outside. This suggests it's the latter.
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  >> Walk us through how it works. Europa's
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  surface is bombarded by radiation from
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  Jupiter, which creates oxidants,
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  essentially oxygen containing compounds
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  in the ice. The new research shows that
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  over time, this irradiated surface ice
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  can become dense enough and heavy enough
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  that it literally breaks free and sinks
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  downward through the icy shell,
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  transporting those oxidants, salts, and
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  potentially life friendly nutrients all
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  the way down to the ocean,
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  >> which is essentially the same kind of
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  chemical delivery system that helps
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  sustain life in some of Earth's deep
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  ocean environments.
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  >> Exactly that comparison. It's not proof
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  of life. Let's be clear about that. But
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  it removes one of the major objections
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  to Europa as a candidate for life. The
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  ocean isn't just a dark static body of
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  water. It may be actively receiving
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  fresh chemistry from above. And of
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  course, NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft
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  is currently on its way to Jupiter due
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  to arrive in 2030. Findings like this
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  are going to shape exactly what the
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  science team is looking for when he gets
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  there. Great timing on that research.
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  Europa remains one of the most
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  tantalizing places in the entire solar
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  system.
• 4:34
  >> Staying in the realm of big milestones,
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  SpaceX had quite a Saturday. The company
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  launched not one but two Falcon 9
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  rockets in a single day. One from
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  California and one from Florida, both
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  carrying batches of Starling satellites.
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  But the really headline grabbing moment
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  was the second launch. The Falcon 9
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  booster that flew from Cape Canaveral
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  set a new reuse record for the company.
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  This is a rocket that has flown more
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  times than any other Falcon 9 booster in
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  history.
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  >> It's remarkable when you stop to think
• 5:06
  about it. In the early days of space
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  flight, rockets were essentially
• 5:10
  disposable. You launched them once and
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  they burned up or crashed into the
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  ocean. SpaceX has fundamentally changed
• 5:17
  that equation. And every time they set a
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  new record like this, it drives down the
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  cost of access to space a little bit
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  more. The economics of the Starlink
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  constellation and by extension a lot of
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  SpaceX's broader ambitions depend on
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  being able to fly the same hardware over
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  and over again reliably.
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  >> Any word on how many times this
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  particular booster has flown?
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  >> The specific flight count is still being
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  confirmed, but it's enough to break the
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  previous record, and that's the
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  significant part. We'll have the exact
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  number in our show notes. It's another
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  quiet but important step forward for
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  reusable space flight.
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  >> And speaking of launches, one is
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  happening today, right now in fact, or
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  very soon after this episode drops.
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  Rocket Lab is launching its haste rocket
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  from Wallop's flight facility in
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  Virginia at 300 p.m. Eastern time this
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  afternoon. AET stands for hypersonic
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  accelerator suborbital test electron and
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  it's exactly what it sounds like a
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  modified version of rocket lab's
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  electron rocket adapted to carry
• 6:21
  hypersonic test payloads to suborbital
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  trajectories at very high speeds. This
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  mission is for the defense innovation
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  unit. That's a US government agency
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  focused on accelerating the adoption of
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  commercial technology for national
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  security. So this is firmly in the dual
• 6:38
  use space. commercial rocket technology
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  meeting defense research.
• 6:42
  >> Hypersonic vehicles, anything traveling
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  at Mach 5 or above, are one of the
• 6:47
  hottest areas in both defense and
• 6:49
  commercial aerospace right now. Being
• 6:51
  able to test technologies at those
• 6:53
  speeds in a relatively affordable,
• 6:56
  responsive way is exactly what Haste is
• 6:59
  designed to offer.
• 7:00
  >> And it's a good reminder that Rocket Lab
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  is not just the cute little satellite
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  launcher it started out as. They're
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  expanding into quite different mission
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  profiles now.
• 7:08
  >> Very much so. We'll be watching the
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  launch this afternoon. If you want to
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  follow along, check our social channels
• 7:14
  for updates.
• 7:15
  >> Now to Mars and to a story that has real
• 7:18
  implications for how we understand the
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  long-term faith of the red planet. New
• 7:23
  research published this week has found
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  that an intense regional dust storm on
• 7:27
  Mars transported unusually high amounts
• 7:30
  of water vapor through the planet's
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  atmosphere. Water on Mars is always a
• 7:34
  fascinating topic because we know Mars
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  once had liquid water, rivers, lakes,
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  possibly even oceans. And the big
• 7:42
  question is where did it all go? The
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  leading answer is that Mars lost its
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  water over billions of years, partly to
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  space. And dust storms appear to be a
• 7:53
  key mechanism in that process.
• 7:55
  >> So, how does a dust storm move water?
• 7:58
  >> Great question. When a dust storm kicks
• 8:00
  up on Mars, it heats the atmosphere and
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  lifts dust particles high into the sky.
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  Water ice and water vapor get caught up
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  in this turbulence and lofted to much
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  higher altitudes than they'd normally
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  reach. Up high, the water is more
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  exposed to ultraviolet radiation from
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  the sun, which breaks the water
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  molecules apart. The hydrogen escapes to
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  space and the water is permanently lost
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  from the planet. So every major dust
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  storm is essentially Mars losing a
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  little more of its water budget
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  >> over geological time scales. Yes. What
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  makes this study significant is the
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  quantity involved. The researchers found
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  the storm was transporting water at
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  rates much higher than previous models
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  had predicted. It suggests we may have
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  been underestimating the role that
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  regional dust storms play in Mars'
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  ongoing water loss as distinct from the
• 8:55
  planetwide global storms.
• 8:58
  >> And this matters a lot for our thinking
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  about early Mars when it was warmer and
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  wetter. Understanding how water was lost
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  helps us understand how long Mars might
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  have been habitable.
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  >> Exactly. Every new piece of data about
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  Mars' water history gets us closer to
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  understanding whether it had the
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  conditions for life and for how long.
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  Really compelling research.
• 9:20
  >> And we finished today with something you
• 9:22
  can literally go outside and enjoy
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  tonight. Anna, tell us about the skies.
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  >> Oh, where to begin? So, we are right in
• 9:31
  the peak of an extended six planet
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  parade that's been running through late
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  February. Tonight after sunset, if you
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  look toward the western sky, you'll be
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  able to spot Venus low on the horizon,
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  bright and unmistakable. Not far from
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  it, Mercury and Saturn are also visible,
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  forming a close trio in the west.
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  >> And for those with binoculars or a
• 9:53
  telescope, Neptune is lurking very close
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  to Saturn as well. So, it's quite the
• 9:58
  western horizon spectacle. Then as you
• 10:01
  scan across to the east, Jupiter is high
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  and dominant, hard to miss. And Uranus
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  is up in the south near the Pletes star
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  cluster. Again, needing binoculars, but
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  very findable tonight.
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  >> And the moon plays a special role
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  tonight, doesn't it?
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  >> It really does. The waxing crescent moon
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  is passing right through the northern
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  edge of the Pletes tonight. That's the
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  beautiful little star cluster, also
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  known as the seven sisters. Depending on
• 10:29
  your location, particularly if you're in
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  the northern US or Canada, the moon may
• 10:34
  actually occult. That means pass in
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  front of several of the Pletes stars,
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  causing them to disappear and reappear
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  one by one. That window runs from
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  roughly 1000 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Eastern
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  time.
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  >> That sounds absolutely magical. And even
• 10:51
  if you miss the occultation, the sight
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  of the crescent moon nestled among those
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  stars is just beautiful.
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  >> It really is. Six planets and a moon in
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  the pletes. February is delivering for
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  sky watchers. Get outside tonight if you
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  can.
• 11:07
  >> And that is your astronomy daily for
• 11:09
  Monday, February 23rd, 2026. What a
• 11:13
  show. Artemis setbacks, Europa ocean
• 11:16
  science, SpaceX records, a live launch,
• 11:19
  Mars water mystery, and six planets
• 11:22
  waiting for you outside.
• 11:24
  >> We'll have all of today's stories,
• 11:26
  links, and resources in the show notes
• 11:28
  and on the blog at astronomyaily.io.
• 11:31
  Don't forget to follow us at astrodaily
• 11:34
  pod across all your social platforms.
• 11:36
  >> If you enjoyed today's episode, please
• 11:38
  subscribe, leave us a review. It
• 11:40
  genuinely helps the show. and tell a
• 11:43
  fellow space fan about us.
• 11:45
  >> Until tomorrow, keep looking up.
• 11:47
  >> The universe is waiting. Clear skies,
• 11:49
  everyone, especially tonight.
• 12:02
  Stories told.