NASA Stands Down: Artemis 2 Crew Released as Rocket Heads Back to the Hangar

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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily


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guide to what's happening in the cosmos.


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I'm Anna.


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>> And I'm Avery. It is Monday, February


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23rd, 2026, and we have got a jam-packed


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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.


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The moon rocket is on the move again,


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but not in the direction anyone was


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hoping for. We also have a fascinating


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story about Jupiter's moon Europa, a


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record-breaking SpaceX milestone, a


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launch happening literally today, some


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surprising new science from Mars, and


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the spectacular sky watching event you


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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


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dominated space news over the weekend.


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NASA's Aremis 2 moon rocket, the one


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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


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ordered back to the garage.


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>> That's right. Engineers discovered a


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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


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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


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news here, is that NASA says the quick


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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


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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.


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>> 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


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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.


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>> Absolutely not. We'll keep you updated


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as this develops. April, it seems, is


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the new target.


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>> From mission delays to genuinely


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exciting science, new research published


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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


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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


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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.


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>> 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


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about it. In the early days of space


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flight, rockets were essentially


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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


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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


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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


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use space. commercial rocket technology


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meeting defense research.


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>> Hypersonic vehicles, anything traveling


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at Mach 5 or above, are one of the


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hottest areas in both defense and


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commercial aerospace right now. Being


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able to test technologies at those


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speeds in a relatively affordable,


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responsive way is exactly what Haste is


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designed to offer.


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>> 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.


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>> 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


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for updates.


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>> Now to Mars and to a story that has real


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implications for how we understand the


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long-term faith of the red planet. New


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research published this week has found


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that an intense regional dust storm on


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Mars transported unusually high amounts


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of water vapor through the planet's


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atmosphere. Water on Mars is always a


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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


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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


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key mechanism in that process.


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>> So, how does a dust storm move water?


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>> Great question. When a dust storm kicks


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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


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planetwide global storms.


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>> 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.


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>> And we finished today with something you


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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


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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


00:09:38.560 --> 00:09:40.470
look toward the western sky, you'll be


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able to spot Venus low on the horizon,


00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:45.910
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.


00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:53.269
>> And for those with binoculars or a


00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:56.150
telescope, Neptune is lurking very close


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to Saturn as well. So, it's quite the


00:09:58.560 --> 00:10:01.590
western horizon spectacle. Then as you


00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.389
scan across to the east, Jupiter is high


00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.110
and dominant, hard to miss. And Uranus


00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.590
is up in the south near the Pletes star


00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:12.150
cluster. Again, needing binoculars, but


00:10:12.160 --> 00:10:13.910
very findable tonight.


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>> And the moon plays a special role


00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:17.269
tonight, doesn't it?


00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:20.150
>> It really does. The waxing crescent moon


00:10:20.160 --> 00:10:22.069
is passing right through the northern


00:10:22.079 --> 00:10:24.550
edge of the Pletes tonight. That's the


00:10:24.560 --> 00:10:26.630
beautiful little star cluster, also


00:10:26.640 --> 00:10:29.350
known as the seven sisters. Depending on


00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:31.590
your location, particularly if you're in


00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.630
the northern US or Canada, the moon may


00:10:34.640 --> 00:10:37.030
actually occult. That means pass in


00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:39.910
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


00:10:44.800 --> 00:10:48.389
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


00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:54.230
if you miss the occultation, the sight


00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:56.389
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


00:11:01.920 --> 00:11:04.470
the pletes. February is delivering for


00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:06.790
sky watchers. Get outside tonight if you


00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:07.590
can.


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>> And that is your astronomy daily for


00:11:09.760 --> 00:11:13.829
Monday, February 23rd, 2026. What a


00:11:13.839 --> 00:11:16.470
show. Artemis setbacks, Europa ocean


00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:19.829
science, SpaceX records, a live launch,


00:11:19.839 --> 00:11:22.470
Mars water mystery, and six planets


00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:24.150
waiting for you outside.


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>> We'll have all of today's stories,


00:11:26.079 --> 00:11:28.069
links, and resources in the show notes


00:11:28.079 --> 00:11:31.590
and on the blog at astronomyaily.io.


00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:33.990
Don't forget to follow us at astrodaily


00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.710
pod across all your social platforms.


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>> If you enjoyed today's episode, please


00:11:38.959 --> 00:11:40.949
subscribe, leave us a review. It


00:11:40.959 --> 00:11:43.269
genuinely helps the show. and tell a


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fellow space fan about us.


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>> Until tomorrow, keep looking up.


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>> The universe is waiting. Clear skies,


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everyone, especially tonight.


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Stories told.