Congress warned that NASA's current plan for Artemis "cannot work"

"The Artemis III mission and those beyond should be canceled and we should start over, proceeding with all deliberate speed," Griffin said. He included a link to his plan, which is not dissimilar from the "Apollo on Steroids" architecture he championed two decades ago, but was later found to be unaffordable within NASA's existing budget."

""When you're looking at the NASA authorization legislation, look at it in a way where you are the genesis of that innovation ecosystem, that flywheel that really powers US national security and economic security, in a way that the PRC just can't match," Swope said. "Without science, we would never have had something like the Manhattan Project.""

Artemis III and subsequent lunar missions should be canceled and the lunar program restarted to proceed with deliberate speed. A proposed plan resembles an "Apollo on Steroids" architecture but was judged unaffordable within NASA's existing budget. NASA should remain an engine for US space and science leadership, with programs like Commercial Lunar Payload Services stimulating a growing lunar industry. Federal spending on basic research and development serves as critical feedstock for US innovation and a strategic advantage over the People's Republic of China. NASA and Congress must improve accountability for agencies and contractors. Major exploration programs have run years behind schedule and billions over budget in the last 15 years, and cost-plus contracts have limited the ability to enforce contractor deadlines while Congress continued funding delayed programs.

Read at Ars Technica