NASA postpones Moon landing plan until 2026

The Artemis II mission was scheduled to launch later this year, sending four astronauts around the Moon. However, the mission has been postponed to September 2025. The delay in the Artemis II mission also means that Artemis III - the first human mission to the Moon in more than 50 years - has been postponed from 2025 to September 2026.

NASA completes mission to cover the face of the moon in 2026 image 1 — The Orion spacecraft on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Photo: NASA

Explaining the delay, NASA said the space agency has yet to address safety concerns about the spacecraft, lunar suits and landers coming from private businesses.

“Safety is our top priority,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The delay will give the Artemis team more time to overcome challenges.”

NASA's postponement announcement came just an hour after Pittsburgh-based private company Astrobotic Technology abandoned its attempt to land its Peregrine spacecraft on the moon due to a fuel leak. The Peregrine lander was supposed to serve as a scout for astronauts. Meanwhile, NASA's Artemis program is heavily reliant on private companies.

The Artemis crew will need SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket to land on the moon. The nearly 400-foot-long rocket has only launched twice from Texas, both times exploding in the Gulf of Mexico. A third test launch is planned for February.

In November 2023, the US Government Accountability Office warned that NASA may have to wait until 2027 for its first moon landing mission in more than 50 years, citing Elon Musk’s Starship as one of many technical challenges. Another challenge is the development of Axiom Space’s moonwalking suits.

“We need all of them ready and successful to execute this very complex mission,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s deputy administrator for mission planning. He added that even with the delay, the 2026 moon landing still represents “a very aggressive timeline.”

NASA’s moon landing effort has been delayed multiple times over the past decade, adding billions of dollars to the cost. A US government audit estimates the total cost of the program at $93 billion by 2025.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

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