Artemis I in 2022 demonstrated the rocket and capsule to get astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon. Image: NASA
NASA postpones the crewed lunar return, Artemis.
The next opportunity for US space agency astronauts to set foot on the Moon won’t come until September 2026, at the latest.
The planned date for the return of humans to the lunar surface, which was last accomplished in 1972, has been slipped by one year.
According to NASA, the postponement of the Artemis III mission will allow for additional technological advancements.
In essence, the NASA still lacks spacesuits for astronauts to wear and a craft to land people on the moon.
Agency Administrator Bill Nelson stated that safety came first when announcing the postponement. Telling reporters, “We won’t fly until we’re ready,”.
The Artemis II crew (L-R): Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman. Image: NASA
Additionally, NASA is delaying the Artemis II preparatory mission until September 2025.
Four astronauts will circle the moon in this mission, but they won’t touch down. This flight was scheduled for the end of the year until today.
Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen make up the crew that is now undergoing training. 2022 saw the occurrence of Artemis I.
The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, which NASA plans to use to launch humans into lunar orbit, were demonstrated here without a crew.
However, before the Artemis II foursome can board the capsule, a life support system must be installed, and the space agency reports that there are issues with the electronics in this system that will now need to be fixed.
Additionally, engineers would like more time to study the behavior and functionality of the heatshield that shields the Orion capsule during its explosive mission-ending re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
A few unanticipated material losses occurred with this shield during the Artemis I return.
However, NASA’s most pressing problem going forward will likely be the Artemis III landing ship.
Artwork: Artemis involves construction of a lunar space station called Gateway. Image: ESA
This is a redesigned Starship vehicle, presently undergoing testing in Texas, and it will be provided by SpaceX, the business venture of entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The plan is for astronauts to board Starships when they are in lunar orbit and descend to the Moon’s surface.
Not only must SpaceX have the new vehicle operating correctly, but it also needs to conduct an unmanned demonstration at the Moon.
Additionally, the corporation will need to refuel Starship in Earth orbit before it can even approach the Moon, which is a totally new procedure.
In fact, it might take ten or more starship launches to acquire enough fuel into a single vehicle above Earth, enabling it to go to the Moon and land there.
Jim Free, an associate administrator at NASA, was questioned if it was feasible to believe that all of this technology would be fully developed by September 2026.
“We’re setting a date for [Artemis III] that we have set with our contractors, based on the technical plans that they’ve laid out,” he replied.
“I can tell you that we included margin to cover some of the risks that we expect to encounter.
We’ve made an effort to address the unknown unknowns and establish a workable plan.”
The dates for the Artemis IV and V missions, which are scheduled for 2028 and 2029, respectively, are still fixed.
The first astronaut mission to the newly built Gateway lunar space station this decade will take place on IV.
Blue Moon, a second landing system, will be introduced in V. The space firm controlled by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, is developing this.