NASA Inspector General: Artemis Moon Landing Will Be Delayed Another Year

Spacesuit development and other issues will delay NASA’s historic Artemis mission to return humans to the surface of the moon until 2026, according to NASA’s inspector general.

Thom Patterson

Monday, March 07, 2022 at 04:30 PM ET

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An artist’s rendering shows Artemis I lifting off with the world’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Artemis mission to return humans to the moon's surface is likely delayed by one year until 2026, primarily due to issues with spacesuit development and the Human Landing System (HLS).
Other Artemis missions, including the uncrewed Artemis I launch (now expected Summer 2022) and the crewed lunar orbit Artemis II (delayed until at least mid-2024), also face significant schedule slips.
The NASA Inspector General warned that the high per-launch cost of the SLS/Orion system ($4.1 billion) is unsustainable and could jeopardize the agency's long-term human exploration goals for the moon and Mars.

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Spacesuit development and other issues will likely delay NASA’s historic Artemis mission to return humans to the moon’s surface by one year until 2026.

That’s the word from NASA Inspector General Paul Martin during March 1 testimony before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. The mission to put the first woman and person of color on the moon had already been pushed from 2024 to 2025.