- NASA says Artemis II is delayed to 2025 and Artemis III won’t happen until 2026
- Artemis II will send astronauts around the moon while Artemis III will land on it
It was expected to be the biggest space trip of 2024, marking NASA’s first manned trip to the moon for over 40 years.
But Artemis II been delayed until September next year, while its eagerly anticipated follow-up, Artemis III, won’t take place until September 2026, the agency has revealed.
NASA cited safety concerns as the reason for the delays to its Artemis programme – the successor to the Apollo programme of the 1960s and 1970s.
Artemis II will send four astronauts on a trip around the moon and back home, while Artemis III will actually land humans on the lunar surface.
If all goes to plan, Artemis III will mark the first time humans have walked on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission of December 1972.
NASA’s moon-landing effort has been delayed repeatedly over the past decade, adding billions of dollars to the cost.
Government audits project the total programme costs at $93billion (£73billion) through 2025.
Giving a reason for the new delays, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said safety was a ‘top priority’ for the next stage of the programme.
‘To give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first time developments, operations and integration, we’re going to give more time on Artemis II and III,’ he said.
‘So what I want to tell you is we are adjusting our schedule to target Artemis II for September of 2025, and September of 2026 for Artemis III, which will send humans for the first time to the lunar south pole.
‘Artemis IV remains on track for September 2028 and though challenges are clearly ahead our teams are making incredible progress.’
NASA is relying heavily on private companies for its Artemis moon-landing program, including Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
For Artemis III, SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket will be needed to get the first moonwalkers from lunar orbit down to the surface and back up.
But the nearly 400ft (121-meter) rocket has launched from Texas only twice, exploding both times over the Gulf of Mexico (a third test flight is planned for February).
However, a US government agency thinks the delay to Artemis III could stretch even further.
The Government Accountability Office warned in November that NASA was likely looking at 2027 for its first astronaut moon landing.
It cited Starship as one of the many technical challenges, although other potential hurdles include the development of moonwalking suits by a Houston firm called Axiom Space.
Even with the new delay, a 2026 moon landing represents ‘a very aggressive schedule’, admitted Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s deputy associate administrator.
‘We need them all to be ready and all to be successful in order for that very complicated mission to come together,’ Kshatriya added.
Artemis II – which will fly four astronauts around the moon and back home – is the the more realistic trip, but even it could be subject to further delays.
However, it’s not been a complete disaster for the Artemis programme so far, as the first mission, Artemis I, was a success in late 2022.
Artemis I performed the same flight around the moon that Artemis II will do, but with nobody aboard, other than a Shaun the Sheep figure and several other trinkets.
When it does take place, Artemis II is expected to smash the record for the furthest distance travelled from Earth by a craft designed to carry humans (set by Artemis I in 2022).
NASA’s fresh delay came barely an hour after a Pittsburgh company abandoned its own attempt to land its spacecraft on the moon because of a fuel leak.
Launched on Monday, as part of NASA’s commercial lunar programme, Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lander was supposed to serve as a scout for the astronauts.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
