NASA postponed the manned landing mission on the Moon surface to 2026

Last Tuesday (9), United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Announced that the Artemis 2 mission, planned to take place in November 2024, has been postponed to September 2025. In conclusion, The Artemis 3 mission, which was planned to take place at the end of 2025, has also been postponed and is expected to take place only in September 2026.

While the Artemis 2 mission performed a manned flight in orbit around the Moon, Artemis 3 Plans to send astronauts to the surface of a natural satellite — This is the first human landing on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. According to NASA deputy administrator Jim Free, the decision to postpone was made to ensure greater safety of the astronauts participating in the project.

Originally, four astronauts were to be sent to land on the Moon in 2025, but some concerns about the spacecraft caused the postponement. Besides, Some issues related to the development of lunar suits and probes also helped the decision to postpone both missions.

“Safety is our top priority, and we will be devoting more time to Artemis 2 and 3 to give Artemis teams more time to overcome challenges related to early development, operations, and integration. So my point is this: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has a statement about the delay. In his statement at the conference, he said that Artemis 3, which will send people to the south pole of the Moon for the first time, plans to reach Artemis 2 in September 2025 and September 2026.

Moon landing postponed to 2026

According to Amit Kshatriya, deputy administrator of NASA’s Moon to Mars program, Following Artemis 1’s test flight in late 2022, scientists found problems with the Orion capsule’s heat shield. He explains that this is a big problem for the space agency, as the shield protects even the capsule, but some of it is charred by the spacecraft itself.

Some tests have revealed flaws in the ship’s life support equipment, so the technical team must replace it for the Artemis 3 mission. The crew’s electric stopping system also failed during testing. Due to these and similar problems, NASA decided to postpone both missions for another year.

“I want to emphasize that safety is our number one priority. You heard it from the manager today; you’ve heard it many times. As we prepare to send our friends and colleagues on this mission, we are determined to depart as safely as possible. And we will depart when we are ready. The crew is committed to their safe return to us.” It’s a constant reminder of how important it is to stay focused on the work we need to do to deliver,” said Free.

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