The Artemis II mission, which will allow a Canadian to reach lunar orbit for the first time, has been postponed by nine months to September 2025.
This announcement from NASA on Tuesday afternoon confirms rumors that the schedule for Artemis II, which was to leave in 2024, cannot be respected. The mission, in which Ontario’s Jeremy Hansen is participating, will orbit the Moon.
Artemis I, an unmanned mission which allowed testing the habitable Orion capsule, was itself postponed several times before taking off in November 2022.
At a press conference, an “unexpected” result during Orion’s reentry during Artemis was cited to explain the delay in Artemis II. The heat shield did not react as it should to the heat, although it preserved the temperature inside the capsule well.
Artemis III, which will see astronauts set foot on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, has also been postponed, from 2025 to September 2026. Artemis III depends on SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which has so far had two flight tests , but none that reached Earth’s orbit.
For Artemis III, Starship will meet Orion in lunar orbit, and land on the moon.
Artemis IV, a second moon landing which will also include a docking of Orion with the future Gateway lunar orbital station, is still planned for September 2028. Canada is responsible for manufacturing Gateway’s robotic arm.