NASA has postponed its ambitious mission to the moon for the next two years after several spacecraft needed for the mission continued to experience technical problems
NASA's Artemis III mission to the moon, which will land four astronauts near the moon's south pole, will be postponed for a year until September 2026. While the Artemis II test mission will be postponed until September 2025. The mission was scheduled for testing life support systems by sending a space crew around the moon for a ten-day expedition.
Also read: Peregrine Mission One faces a 'technical problem', NASA promises to learn from the moon mission
Artemis is NASA's multi-billion dollar space program, intended to send astronauts to the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
What's causing NASA to postpone its moon missions?
NASA's second Artemis mission has been postponed for a year after the US space agency encountered problems with the Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsules during vibration tests, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The batteries in the Lockheed Martin crew capsule are being replaced.
Also read: This failed NASA moon mission is reminiscent of ISRO's exemplary moon landing of Chandrayaan 3
Artemis 3 mission to the moon will use NASA contractor SpaceX's Starship landing system. However, billionaire Elon Musk's space company is unexpectedly taking longer than expected to meet the previous timeline, the news agency reported based on sources.
In announcing the new timeline for its mission, NASA said the delays would allow the teams to overcome development challenges associated with the program.
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“We are returning to the moon in a way we have never done before, and the safety of our astronauts is NASA's top priority as we prepare for future Artemis missions,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a news conference Tuesday. .
“So what I want to tell you is that we are adjusting our schedule to target Artemis 2 for September 2025 and September 2026 for Artemis 3, which will send humans to the moon's south pole for the first time,” he added .
Also read: 'Scientifically important…' what NASA scientist said about ISRO's Aditya-L1 entering Halo orbit
Private companies involved in NASA's Artemis program
Several private companies are involved in NASA's ambitious space program to the moon. The Artemis program will use the Boeing and Northrop Grumman-led Space Launch System to lift people off Earth, Lockheed's Orion capsule to propel them to the moon, and SpaceX's Starship to get them on and off the moon's surface.
Not only this: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is building an astronaut lander for later missions. Elon Musk's SpaceX is also preparing to reach the milestone of completing Starship's refueling at an orbital propellant depot before the ship can take humans to the lunar surface and launch them back with enough fuel.
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Published: Jan 12, 2024 2:53 PM IST