Artemis II Astronaut Reveals False Cabin Leak Warning Nearly Derailed NASA Moon Mission on April 2

NASA’s Artemis II astronauts nearly missed a historic lunar burn on April 2 when an unexpected cabin leak warning forced a tense decision just minutes before the critical maneuver. The incident occurred as the Orion spacecraft swooped roughly 100 miles above Earth, preparing for the translunar injection burn that would send the crew moonward.

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover revealed details of the scare on Oct. 18 at the Starmus VIII festival in Tenerife, noting the warning hit about 15 minutes before the engine fire. Passing through a region crowded with orbital debris and radiation, the crew and mission control had to quickly determine if the leak was real or if they needed to don spacesuits and abort the mission.

NASA flight director Judd Frieling confirmed in an April briefing that the alert was a false alarm. Orion successfully executed its main engine burn for nearly six minutes, launching the crew toward the moon at roughly 24,500 mph. The Artemis II crew ultimately traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history, reaching a maximum distance of 252,756 miles before safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.