The NASA announced changes to its Artemis lunar program and confirmed that the planned mission to carry astronauts to the surface of the Luna will not be the Artemis IIIas planned. The space agency reported that the program’s first manned lunar landing will move to Artemis IV, now planned for 2028.
In a official statementthe agency explained that Artemis IIIscheduled for 2027, will have a new focus and will be dedicated to testing systems and operational capabilities in low Earth orbit. “The Artemis III mission, now scheduled for 2027, will be designed to test systems and operational capabilities in low Earth orbit in preparation for the landing of Artemis IV in 2028,” NASA said.
Until now, the roadmap indicated that Artemis III would be the mission that would bring American astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time since the program. Apollo. With the new scheme, that milestone is moved to Artemis IV.
According to the statement, the new Artemis III will include a rendezvous and docking attempt with one or both commercial landers developed by SpaceX y Blue Origin. Life support systems, communications, propulsion and the new xEVA spacesuits will also be evaluated.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacmandefended the decision and linked the changes to the need to accelerate the lunar program. “NASA must standardize its approach, safely increase flight frequency, and execute the president’s national space policy,” he said.
“With credible competition from our largest geopolitical adversary “which is increasing day by day, we need to act more quickly, eliminate delays and achieve our objectives,” he added.
New systems and spacesuits tested
The agency also announced that it is seeking to standardize the rocket’s configuration. Space Launch System and of the ship Orion. The objective is to avoid significant modifications in future missions and maintain, as far as possible, the configuration known as “Block 1”.
The associate administrator Amit Kshatriya He maintained that altering the architecture after test flights is not advisable. «It is unnecessarily complicated to modify the configuration of the SLS and the Orion stack to carry out subsequent Artemis missions,» he said. He also stressed that the program must advance with a gradual logic
NASA argued that this strategy will allow reduce technical risks and production. In that line, Kshatriya He stated that the agency wants to “carry out the landing missions with an Earth ascent configuration as similar as possible to the original.”
The statement also noted that the recent directive on workforce It will be a key factor in accelerating the pace of releases. The agency plans to strengthen internal capabilities and work more directly with its industry partners.
The announcement was made during a press conference in it Kennedy Space Centerwhere those responsible for the program also reported on the status of Artemis IIthe manned mission that will carry out a lunar flyby before the new operational scheme. The hardware was moved back to the assembly building to resolve a technical problem detected in the cryogenic propulsion system.
With this decision, NASA redefines the calendar of its lunar program and moves the effective return of astronauts to the surface of the Moon to 2028. The agency maintains that the change will allow progress to be made with greater security and with a more sustained cadence of missions in the following years.
What is Artemis
Artemis is NASA’s lunar program that seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon as a preliminary step to future missions to Mars. The plan contemplates a series of progressive flights that combine the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, commercial landers and, in the long term, the construction of the Gateway lunar orbital station.
The first mission, Artemis Iwas conducted uncrewed in 2022 and validated the performance of the rocket and capsule on a trip around the Moon.
