NASA postpones return to the moon

NASA announced the Artemis program in 2017 to establish a long-term presence on the moon and use it as a springboard to Mars. The first Artemis mission, an unmanned test flight to and from the moon, is scheduled for 2022 after several delays.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson (left cover) at a press conference on December 5.

After that mission, the Orion spacecraft's heat shield cracked and corroded in unexpected ways, and there were also problems with the ship's electrical and life support systems.

The issues have pushed back the entire Artemis program schedule. NASA officials said on December 5 that the Artemis 2 mission, a manned flyby of the moon, scheduled for September 2025, will be postponed to April 2026. Then, the Artemis 3 mission, which is expected to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon's south pole on SpaceX's Starship spacecraft, will be pushed back to mid-2027.

“That’s still much earlier than the Chinese government’s stated intentions,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said of China’s plans to land humans on the moon by 2030. “The safety of our astronauts is paramount. We won’t fly until we’re ready,” Nelson added.

There are still many things that NASA needs to do to make these plans happen. The Starship spacecraft has been tested several times but has encountered problems. The spacesuit developed by Axiom is also in the process of being completed.

The Artemis program was established during Donald Trump's first term as president, representing an effort to return humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

President-elect Trump recently nominated former astronaut and billionaire Jared Isaacman as the next leader of NASA, suggesting changes to the space industry in his second term. The Artemis program is estimated to cost $93 billion through 2025.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nasa-lai-doi-lich-dua-nguoi-tro-lai-mat-trang-185241206073531149.htm