NASA Postpones Return of Astronauts to Lunar Surface to 2026

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – The United States (US) has postponed plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface from 2025 to 2026, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Wednesday (10/1/2024) amid technical challenges and delays.

The Artemis mission, named after Apollo’s sister in Greek mythology, was officially announced in 2017 as part of the US space agency’s plan to be in space closest to Earth to apply learnings to future missions to Mars.

Its first mission, an uncrewed test flight to and back to the moon called Artemis 1, takes place in 2022, after being postponed several times.

Artemis 2, which involves a crew that does not land on the surface, has been delayed from later this year to September 2025, Nelson told reporters.

Meanwhile Artemis 3, in which the first woman and first person of color will set foot on lunar soil at the moon’s south pole, will take place in September 2026.

“Safety is our top priority, and gives the Artemis team more time to overcome these challenges,” said Nelson.

NASA also plans to build a lunar space station, called the Gateway, where spacecraft will dock on future missions.

2024-01-11 11:35:00
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