NASA postpones the return of astronauts to the Moon until 2026

NASA said it needed, with private partner companies, more time before the departure of these missions.

NASA announced on Tuesday, January 9, the postponement of nearly a year of its Artemis 3 missions, which will send astronauts back to the Moon for the first time since 1972, and Artemis 2, during which a crew must make the tour of the Moon without landing there. “We are adjusting our schedule to target Artémis 2 in September 2025, and September 2026 for Artémis 3”declared NASA boss Bill Nelson during a press conference.

“Safety is our first priority”, said Bill Nelson, specifying that the space agency and private partner companies needed more time before the departure of these missions. Despite these postponements, “I really don’t believe that China will land [sur la Lune] before us”he estimated Bill Nelson.

Artemis 2 postponed for security reasons

The Artemis program aims to establish a lasting presence on the Moon, in order to prepare the journey of a first crew to Mars. This program was inaugurated in 2022 with the Artemis 1 mission, which successfully flew the Orion spacecraft around the Moon, in order to test it without a crew.

The Artemis 2 mission, which should last around ten days and send four astronauts for a flyby of the Moon, has been postponed for security reasons. An investigation is underway into emissions of calcined material from the heat shield that protects the Orion capsule during its return to the Earth’s atmosphere. NASA also wants more time to look into the batteries of the capsule’s ejection system, which must work in the event of a problem during takeoff.

Two elements are also missing for the Artemis 3 mission. Firstly a lander, ordered from the space company SpaceX, and spacesuits adapted to the lunar environment, the development of which was entrusted to Axiom Space. The new date of 2026 allows us to take into account “the development challenges encountered by our industrial partners”said a senior NASA official.