Space & Astronomy

NASA announces disappointing update on Artemis Moon missions

By T.K. Randall
December 7, 2024 ·  5 comments

We are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Image Credit: NASA In an update that was perhaps inevitable, NASA has announced that the Artemis III mission - which aims to see astronauts land on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo program - has been delayed again, this time until 2027 at the earliest.

This marks the second time that the mission has been pushed back this year alone.

Artemis I, which saw an unmanned spacecraft orbit the Moon, launched on November 16th, 2022.

Artemis II - essentially a crewed version of the same mission - had been set to launch this year but was delayed back in January until 2025 and has now been pushed back again to 2026.

"We do not fly until we are ready," said NASA's Bill Nelson. "We need to do the next test flight, and we need to do it right. And that's how the Artemis program proceeds."One of the biggest concerns for the space agency right now is the possibility that China, which is hoping to put its own astronauts on the Moon by 2030, could beat NASA to the punch.

"We plan to launch Artemis 3 in mid-2027," said Nelson.

"That will be well ahead of the Chinese government's announced intention that they have already publicly stated is 2030."

Recently there have been rumors that the incoming Trump administration could scrap NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) entirely, perhaps replacing it with Elon Musk's Starship.

If that happens, or if there are any other delays, China could very well be in with a shot of getting to the Moon first.

Source: BBC News | Comments (5)

Tags: Artemis, Moon