Science•14 Jan ’24 3:30 PM Author: Floor Hoogstad
NASA will not send astronauts to the moon again until 2026. Technical issues and safety concerns are causing delays to the Artemis 2 mission and the Artemis 3 mission. “The moon program is not in danger, but we have to be a little more patient until NASA is sure that it is all safe,” says space expert Rob van den Berg.
“The moon program is not in danger, but we have to be a little more patient until NASA is sure that everything is safe.”
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The delay is due to delivery problems with parts of the space suits and problems with the Peregrine lunar lander. This lunar lander was previously tested successfully, but is now showing defects. That is a setback, according to Van den Berg.
Technical and safety problems are causing the Artemis 2 mission and the Artemis 3 mission to be postponed. (ANP/AFP)
NASA has recently stopped building all the materials itself; for the Peregrine lunar lander, the space organization is working with start-up Astrobotics. Van den Berg compares spaceships with transport services, ‘you shouldn’t want to develop all of that yourself: it’s all far too expensive and it takes too long’.
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But according to Van den Berg, postponement does not mean cancellation, the moon voyages will continue anyway. Van den Berg even says that this is the start of long-term lunar programs that will put a permanent human presence on the moon. “The moon program is not in danger, but we have to be a little more patient until NASA is sure that everything is safe.”
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It remains to be seen whether the first person to walk on the moon in fifty years will be American. According to Van den Berg, experts take into account that if there is further delay, that foot could well be Chinese.
2024-01-14 14:30:03
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