NASA has delayed its ambitious mission to the Moon for another two years as various spacecraft required for the mission continue to face technical glitches.
NASA’s Artemis III mission to the Moon, which is set to land four astronauts near the Moon’s south pole, will be postponed by a year to September 2026. Whereas, its test mission, Artemis II, will be delayed to September 2025. The mission was planned to test life support systems by sending a space crew around the Moon for a 10-day mission.
Also read: Peregrine Mission One faces ‘technical problem’, NASA vows to learn from Moon missions
Artemis is NASA’s billion-dollar space program that aims to send astronauts to the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
What is the reason for NASA delaying its Moon mission?
NASA’s second Artemis mission has been pushed back a year after the US space agency encountered problems with the batteries of the Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule during vibration tests, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The batteries in Lockheed Martin’s crew capsule will be replaced.
Also read: This failure of NASA’s Moon mission reminds of the exemplary Moon landing of Chandrayaan 3 by ISRO
The Artemis 3 mission to the Moon will use NASA contractor SpaceX’s Starship Landing System. However, the news agency quoted sources as saying that billionaire Elon Musk’s space company is unexpectedly taking longer than expected to meet the previous deadline.
Announcing the new timeline for its mission, NASA said the delay would help teams work through development challenges associated with the program.
Also read: Will 2007 FT3, a ‘lost asteroid’, hit Earth in October 2024? NASA says…
“We are returning to the Moon in a way we have never done before, and the safety of our astronauts is NASA’s top priority as we look to future Artemis missions,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a press conference Tuesday. Are preparing for.”
He said, “So, what I want to tell you is that we are adjusting our program to target Artemis 2 for September 2025 and Artemis 3 for September 2026, which will be the first time humans reach the Moon. Will send it to the South Pole.”
Also read: ‘Scientifically important…’, what NASA scientist said on entry of ISRO’s Aditya-L1 into helo orbit?
Private companies involved in NASA’s Artemis program
Many private companies are involved in NASA’s ambitious space program on the Moon. The Artemis program will use Space Launch Systems led by Boeing and Northrop Grumman to launch humans away from Earth, Lockheed’s Orion capsule to take them to the Moon, and SpaceX’s Orion capsule to take them to and from the lunar surface. Will use starship.
Not only this, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is also building an astronaut lander for subsequent missions. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is also preparing to achieve the milestone of completing refueling of Starship at an orbital propellant depot before the ship can carry humans to the lunar surface and launch them back with enough fuel. Could.
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Published: Jan 12, 2024, 02:53 PM IST
