The space agency said it has suspended work on building and testing the Artemis rocket and capsule for its mission to the moon due to the growing number of coronavirus cases in the community.
The space agency is closing its Michoud assembly center in New Orleans, where the Space Launch System is being built, and the nearby Stennis Space Center, administrator Jim Bridenstine said late Thursday.
'The work suspension was made due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the community around the center, the number of self-isolation cases in our workforce and one confirmed case among our Stennis team,' he said.
NASA will temporarily suspend production and testing of Space Launch System and Orion equipment. NASA and contractor teams will complete work that will bring all equipment to a safe state. '
The Space Launch System is a powerful deep-space rocket designed to deliver astronauts to the Moon and beyond, while Orion is the crew module.
An outbreak of the virus could hit U.S. plans to return to the moon by 2024.
“We understand that this will have implications for NASA missions, but as our teams work to analyze the full picture and mitigate risks, we understand that our top priority is the health and safety of workers,” Bridenstine said.
The crew return to the Moon is the first part of the Artemis program, which includes creating a long-term colony and testing technology for an expedition to Mars in the 2030s.
Sources: Agence France-Presse. Photo: NASA
