NASA announces new timeline for Artemis Moon missions with crew
- Country:
- United States
NASA has announced a new timeline for its crewed missions to the Moon under the Artemis program. The agency is now targeting September 2025 for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon, and September 2026 for Artemis III, a mission to land the first humans to the lunar South Pole region.
The adjustment has been made to ensure the safe execution of these missions. In addition, NASA is also reviewing the schedule for launching the first integrated elements of the lunar Gateway, previously planned for October 2025, to provide additional development time and better align that launch with the Artemis IV mission in 2028.
"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. 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," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
In order to safely carry out our upcoming #Artemis missions to the Moon with astronauts, we are now targeting September 2025 for Artemis II and September 2026 for Artemis III.Safety is our top priority. https://t.co/AjNjLo4U6E pic.twitter.com/VE74OtlUr6
— NASA (@NASA) January 9, 2024
According to NASA, crew safety is the main reason for rescheduling the Artemis II mission. During the testing phase, some issues were discovered that needed additional time to be resolved. The mission teams are currently working on solving a battery problem as well as addressing challenges with a circuitry component that is responsible for air ventilation and temperature control.
The updated timeline for the Artemis III mission is aligned with the new schedule for Artemis II, the agency said on Tuesday.
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