NASA delays Moon missions: Artemis II pushed to April 2026, Artemis III to mid-2027. Check details here
NASA delays Moon missions: NASA's Artemis program faces delays, rescheduling the Artemis II crewed test flight to April 2026 and Artemis III to mid-2027. We check the reasons why.
NASA delays Moon missions: The United States' national space agency, NASA, on December 5 said that it is officially delaying its Artemis Moon mission programmes.
As per the details, NASA said the Artemis programme faced a setback, pushing the Artemis II crewed test flight back to April 2026 (from September 2025) and the Artemis III mission to mid-2027.
“The experts discussed the results of NASA's investigation into its Orion spacecraft heat shield after it experienced an unexpected loss of charred material during re-entry of the Artemis I uncrewed test flight,” NASA said on its official website.
‘Most Daring International Endeavour Humanity Set Out To Do…’
NASA said that engineers will continue to work on preparing the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II crewed test flight. It added that the heat shield has already been attached to the capsule, and the new target date for launch is April 2026. Further, Artemis III has been pushed till mid-2027.
The space agency added that the updated timeline reflects the time required to address the Orion environmental control and life support systems.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the Artemis campaign “the most daring, technically challenging, collaborative, international endeavour humanity has ever set out to do,” adding that significant progress has been made over the past four years and he is “proud” in this next step forward in space exploration.
“I'm proud of the work our teams have done to prepare us for this next step forward in exploration as we look to learn more about Orion's life support systems to sustain crew operations during Artemis II. We need to get this next test flight right. That's how the Artemis campaign succeeds,” he added.
Why The Delay?
According to a report by ANI, citing information released by NASA, an extensive investigation into the Artemis I heat shield issue showed that it (heat shield) could keep the crew safe during the Artemis II mission with changes to Orion's trajectory as it enters Earth's atmosphere. Further, it showed that the returning capsule slows from nearly 25,000 mph to about 325 mph before its parachutes unfurl for safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The Lockheed Martin-manufactured Orion crew capsule experienced issues with its heat shield cracking and partially eroding during reentry into Earth's atmosphere on its debut 2022 uncrewed 25-day voyage around the moon, Artemis I.
“Throughout our process of investigating the heat shield phenomenon and determining a forward path, we've stayed true to NASA's core values; safety and data-driven analysis remained at the forefront. The updates to our mission plans are a positive step toward ensuring we can safely accomplish our objectives at the Moon and develop the technologies and capabilities needed for crewed Mars missions,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The delay can also be attributed to potential policy changes expected under President-elect Donald Trump's administration next year, as per the Reuters report. Established by NASA during Trump's first administration, the Artemis program is estimated to cost $93 billion through 2025.
Notably, on December 4, Trump picked billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, an associate of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, to be the next NASA chief. Nelson said he congratulated Isaacman and expects the Trump administration to take Artemis forward under the current plan.
About Artemis II (crewed mission) and Artemis III (landing mission)
According to Reuters, Artemis II would be the first time astronauts have returned to the moon since 1972 with the Apollo moon mission. However, unlike the Apollo missions, the Artemis program also calls for building lunar bases that will help pave the way for the more ambitious future goal of sending astronauts to Mars.
Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander, along with NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will fly aboard the 10-day Artemis II test flight around the Moon and back as part of the mission.
According to NASA, the flight will provide valuable data to the Orion spacecraft's systems needed to support the crew on their journey to deep space and bring them safely home. This includes air revitalisation in the cabin, manual flying capabilities, and how humans interact with other hardware and software in the spacecraft.
While Artemis II would involve astronauts turning around the moon and back, Artemis III aims to land astronauts on the moon using SpaceX's Starship aircraft, Reuters reported. The Artemis III lunar landing mission involves Orion transferring the astronauts into space onto Starship, which will land them on the surface.
(With inputs from ANI and Reuters)
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Business NewsScienceNewsNASA delays Moon missions: Artemis II pushed to April 2026, Artemis III to mid-2027. Check details here
First Published:6 Dec 2024, 09:09 AM IST
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