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Nasa has confirmed it is delaying its manned mission to the Moon by a year to allow its teams to work through various operational challenges in a bid to make the journey as safe as possible.
The Artemis programme was formally established in 2017, during the Trump administration, and is intended to re-establish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Artemis II was originally planned to take place later this year and would have seen four astronauts perform a flyby of the Moon and return to Earth. Artemis III was planned as the first crewed Moon landing mission, with a proposed December 2025 launch.
At a press conference, Nasa confirmed it will now target September 2025 for Artemis II, and September 2026 for Artemis III. Artemis IV, however, which will be the first mission to the Lunar Gateway space station, remains on track for 2028.
The delay follows a report from the US Government Accountability Office in December, which found the programme faced multiple challenges with the development of the Human Landing System and space suits.
The Artemis programme is aiming to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.
“We are returning to the Moon in a way we never have before, and the safety of our astronauts is Nasa’s top priority as we prepare for future Artemis missions,” said Nasa administrator Bill Nelson.
“We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system. Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.”
The agency said that ensuring crew safety was the “primary driver” for the Artemis II schedule changes. As the first Artemis flight test with crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, the mission will test the critical environmental control and life support systems required to support astronauts.
But testing of some of the key components used to keep the crew safe and ensure mission success has uncovered issues that require additional time to resolve. The teams are also troubleshooting a battery issue and addressing challenges with a circuitry component responsible for air ventilation and temperature control.
Nasa added that its investigation into the unexpected loss of char layer pieces from the spacecraft’s heat shield during Artemis I is expected to conclude this spring. Artemis I was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. It took place in November 2022 and marked the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft, especially its heat shield.
Teams have taken a methodical approach to understand the heat shield issue, including extensive sampling, testing and reviewing data from sensors and imagery.
“We are letting the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making. We will use the Artemis II flight test, and each flight that follows, to reduce risk for future Moon missions,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator at Nasa Headquarters in Washington.
“We are resolving challenges associated with first-time capabilities and operations, and we are closer than ever to establishing sustained exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbour under Artemis.”
