NASA Delays First Crewed U.S. Moon Landing in Half a Century to 2026

The second and third missions in the space agency’s Artemis program—which seeks to return Americans to the moon—were each delayed nearly one year.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, January 09, 2024 at 06:21 PM ET

Verified

The crew of NASA’s Artemis II moon mission, which was delayed from late 2024 to September 2025 (clockwise from left): Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA has delayed the Artemis II crewed lunar orbit mission to September 2025 and the Artemis III moon landing mission to September 2026, prioritizing safety and readiness.
The Artemis II delay is primarily due to issues identified during the Artemis I flight, including unexpected heat shield erosion, a design flaw in Orion's life support system affecting the carbon dioxide scrubber, and battery deficiencies.
Artemis III's postponement stems from the complexity of developing and integrating new components such as the Human Landing System (HLS), advanced spacesuits, and mastering in-flight propellant transfer from private sector partners like SpaceX.
NASA emphasizes that these delays are essential to address technical challenges, incorporate lessons learned, and ensure the success and safety of the ambitious program aimed at returning humans to the Moon's south pole and paving the way for future Mars missions.

See a mistake? Contact us.

U.S. efforts to return Americans to the moon for the first time in half a century have suffered a setback.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, NASA officials announced that the Artemis II and Artemis III moon missions—planned for this year and next, respectively—will be pushed to September 2025 and September 2026. Artemis II is expected to put NASA astronauts in lunar orbit, while Artemis III aims to land them on the moon, where they would become the first humans to visit the lunar south pole.