FPI / December 13, 2024
By Richard Fisher
Once again, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has delayed the Artemis-III return-to-the-Moon-mission, this time to mid-2027, again ceding momentum to China, which could begin occupying the Moon as early as 2029.
This latest delay was announced by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during a Dec. 5 press conference, who revealed that the Artemis-II manned circumlunar mission would be delayed from September 2025 to April 2026 and that the Artemis-III manned mission to the Moon would be delayed from April 2026 to “mid-2027.”
Artemis-III had originally been planned for 2024, then delayed to 2025, and Artiemis-II was originally planned for 2021.
The main reason for the delay revealed on Dec. 5 was that time was required to fix problems with the heat shield on the new Orion crew capsule.
During its second recovery following the November 2022 unmanned Artemis-1 circumlunar mission, the heat shield performed an atmospheric “bounce” maneuver to slow down, but the heat shield trapped heat that weakened the shield, forcing lengthy repairs to ensure future safe atmospheric reentry for space crews.
The delay also gives additional time for Elon Musk’s SpaceX Corporation to fully develop its Starship-based Human Landing System (HLS), with Starship having yet to perform full recovery for both of its stages, to successfully demonstrate the ability to refuel in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and then to land on the Moon and take off again into Lunar Orbit.
So, Starship HLS essentially has two and a half years to be fully ready to dock with the Orion crew capsule in Lunar Orbit and then transport United States astronauts to the Moon for the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972, and then take them back to Lunar Orbit to dock with Orion for their return to Earth.
A 2023 NASA planning document showing that Artemis-III was scheduled for 2025, likely also means that subsequent Artemis Moon missions will also be delayed by two years: Artemis-IV from 2028 to 2030; Artemis-V from 2029 to 2031; Artemis-VI from 2030 to 2032 and Artemis-VII from 2031 to 2033.
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