"NASA has now announced major changes to its Artemis program that could mean we won't be attempting to land on the Moon until, at the very earliest, early 2028. Following several delays to its follow-up Artemis 2 mission, which will see four astronauts travel around the Moon, NASA's leadership officially revealed that Artemis 3, originally envisioned as its first modern lunar landing attempt, will no longer attempt to touch down on the Moon's surface."
"It could also highlight significant delays with SpaceX's efforts to develop a Starship-based lunar lander. The company was tapped by NASA to come up with a way to transport the crew from lunar orbit down to the surface. Instead, Artemis 3, now scheduled for 'mid-2027,' will serve as a test of docking with one or both of NASA's Human Landing Systems partners, SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander, in low-Earth orbit."
President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1 in late 2017 to return the United States to the Moon's surface. Vice President Pence announced in 2019 that NASA would accelerate efforts to land on the Moon by 2024. However, this deadline was not met. NASA successfully completed the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission in November 2022, sending a spacecraft around the Moon and back. Despite this progress, NASA has now announced major changes to the Artemis program, pushing the first lunar landing attempt to early 2028 at the earliest. Artemis 3, originally planned as the first modern lunar landing, will now serve as a test of docking with lunar landers in low-Earth orbit rather than attempting a surface landing. These delays reflect ongoing challenges within NASA and potential issues with SpaceX's development of the Starship-based lunar lander.
#nasa-artemis-program #lunar-landing-delays #space-exploration #spacex-starship-development #human-spaceflight
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