NASA's mission to return humans to Moon delayed until 2026
NASA has announced a delay in its Artemis missions, aimed at returning humans to the Moon. The Artemis II mission, originally scheduled for 2024 and later pushed to September 2025, will now launch in April 2026. It will send four astronauts, including Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Canadian Jeremy Hansen into lunar orbit without landing on the Moon.
Orion capsule's heat shield issues cause delay
The Artemis II mission was delayed in part due to issues with the Orion spacecraft's heat shield during the uncrewed Artemis I test flight. The heat shield suffered unexpected charring and loss of material. However, data from inside the capsule showed that temperatures would have remained safe for a crew, despite the heat shield's unexpected performance.
NASA engineers to modify Orion's reentry trajectory
For the upcoming Artemis II mission, NASA engineers have opted to change Orion's reentry trajectory into Earth's atmosphere. The change is intended to keep the crew safe during the mission with the current heat shield. The new trajectory will also bring the Artemis II Orion down in the Pacific Ocean, closer to San Diego than originally planned, allowing for faster assistance, if necessary, during reentry.
Artemis III mission set for mid-2027
The Artemis III mission, which will land astronauts on the Moon's surface, is now scheduled for mid-2027. This will mark the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that humans will walk on the Moon's surface. For this more ambitious mission, NASA is "implementing enhancements to how heat shields for crewed returns from lunar landing missions are manufactured" on the basis of what it learned from Artemis I. Despite these delays, the agency remains committed to its lunar exploration goals.
