NASA postpones lunar missions for a year: What is the reason?

The United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided to postpone the implementation of the Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 lunar missions by a year. Thus, the return of American astronauts to the Moon, planned since the "Apollo-17" mission in 1972, is delayed. The corresponding announcement has been published on the official website of the agency.

According to the new schedule, the Artemis 2 mission, which involves a crewed flight around the Moon with subsequent return to Earth, is now planned for September 2025. The Artemis 3 mission, envisioning the landing of astronauts in the region of the Moon's South Pole, has been rescheduled for September 2026. Previously, these missions were planned for the current and 2025, respectively. The later Artemis 4 mission, aiming to make the first flight to the future lunar Gateway space station, is scheduled for 2028.

Ensuring the safety of the crew of manned missions is cited as the main reason for the change in the flight schedule. During the testing of the safety systems of the Orion spacecraft, issues were identified that require additional time for resolution. Currently, engineers at the aerospace agency are addressing malfunctions with the battery and resolving issues with a component of the system responsible for air ventilation and temperature control.

In conjunction with the change in the flight schedule, NASA has also revised the launch schedule for the first integrated elements of the Gateway station, which is now planned to be placed in orbit in October 2025. This decision is made to provide developers with additional time and better coordination with the Artemis 4 mission. NASA has also requested developers of lunar landing systems, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, to start developing variations of landing systems that could be used in the future for delivering large payloads to the lunar surface.

"We have learned a lot since the Artemis 1 mission, and the success of these early missions depends on commercial and international partnerships aimed at expanding our capabilities and understanding humanity's place in the solar system. The Artemis program represents what we can achieve as a nation – as a global coalition. When we collectively aim for the difficult, we can achieve greatness," emphasized NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.