Artemis II Mission Fails After Astronauts Miss Connection Rocket In Atlanta
ATLANTA—Forced to call off the approximately $4 billion journey around the moon due to unforeseen delays experienced by its four-member crew, NASA confirmed Thursday that the Artemis II mission failed Thursday after astronauts missed their connecting flight in Atlanta. “We thought we had enough time to stop for a Cinnabon, but before we knew it, we were sprinting across the terminal in our space suits and the rocket had already fired up its thrusters to leave orbit,” said Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, noting that Mission Control had provided the astronauts with discount hotel vouchers that could be redeemed at a nearby Holiday Inn Express. “We tried switching our tickets over to another flight, but the next rocket to the moon isn’t scheduled to leave until May 2028. The whole situation is really frustrating. Still, we’re hoping to make the best of the mission by collecting some sediment samples around the Atlanta airport before we return to Florida.” The Artemis II crew reportedly grew further exasperated after realizing all their luggage had been successfully transferred and was now on its way to the moon.