NASA is delaying the Artemis II and III crewed missions to the moon to give its teams more time to ensure everything is ready for the ambitious flights.
NASA has delayed its plan to send four astronauts on a flyby of the moon in the Artemis II mission in November, announcing that it will now take place no earlier than September 2025.
In the same announcement made on Tuesday, NASA chief Bill Nelson said that the first crewed landing, originally planned for 2025 as part of Artemis III, will now launch in September 2026 at the earliest.
“As we remind everybody at every turn, safety is our top priority,” Nelson told reporters during a teleconference on Tuesday. “To give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first-time developments and integration, we’re going to give [them] more time on Artemis II and III.”
The NASA chief added that Artemis IV, which will also involve a crewed lunar landing, remains on track for September 2028.
