NASA announced at a press conference on Friday that it is delaying its planned moon landing until Artemis IV in 2028. The Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027, was originally going to attempt to land on the Moon, but will now be a test flight instead. NASA also says it is “increasing the pace of its missions,” including adding a second test flight in 2027 and aiming for “at least one surface landing every year thereafter,” including an Artemis IV landing.
The change in the Artemis launch schedule follows a report from NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) earlier this month that highlighted serious safety risks with NASA’s previous plans for future launches. ASAP was particularly concerned about Artemis III, which it reported contained “cumulative technical, operational, and schedule risks associated with multiple first objectives planned for the same mission.”
The Artemis II mission, scheduled for this year, has encountered several problems during testing in recent weeks, which could delay its launch past April. Artemis II is intended to orbit the Moon – if successful, it will be the first time humans will go into lunar orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
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