NASA Pushes First Moon Landing Since Apollo Era to 2027

Findings from the Artemis I test mission have forced the space agency to recalculate its plans for future flights.

Thursday, December 05, 2024 at 05:09 PM ET

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Artemis II crewmembers Jeremy Hansen (from left), Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch will have to wait a few additional months before they fly around the moon and back. [Courtesy: James Blair/NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA has once again delayed its Artemis II crewed lunar flyby (to April 2026) and Artemis III crewed moon landing (to mid-2027), following issues discovered during the Artemis I test mission.
The primary cause for the delay is a heat shield anomaly on the Orion capsule, where trapped gases led to cracking and char loss during reentry, necessitating engineering adjustments and a new heat shield for Artemis III.
Additional factors contributing to the delays include necessary upgrades to Orion’s life support systems and development challenges faced by commercial partners for spacesuits and the Starship lunar lander.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized astronaut safety as paramount but also highlighted the strategic urgency for the U.S. to return to the moon before China, particularly regarding interests in the lunar south pole.

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For the second time this year, NASA has pushed back its timeline to land the first Americans on the moon since the Apollo era.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Thursday revealed that due to an issue with the heat shield on NASA’s Orion capsule, discovered during the 2022 Artemis I test mission, the Artemis III lunar landing—originally scheduled for 2025 and in January pushed to September 2026—will now happen no sooner than mid-2027.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.