Don’t depend on NASA to return people to the Moon in 2025 or 2026, GAO says

A crescent Earth rises over the horizon of the Moon in this view from NASA's Orion spacecraft on the unpiloted Artemis I test flight in December 2022.

Enlarge / A crescent Earth rises over the horizon of the Moon on this view from NASA’s Orion spacecraft on the unpiloted Artemis I check flight in December 2022. (credit score: NASA)

A brand new report from the Authorities Accountability Workplace suggests NASA’s Artemis III mission, which goals to return people to the Moon’s floor for the primary time in additional than 50 years, may very well be delayed from late 2025 till 2027.

The readiness of SpaceX’s human-rated lander and new business spacesuits developed by Axiom House are driving the schedule for Artemis III. Each contractors have plenty of work to do earlier than the Artemis III touchdown, and the federal government watchdog’s report mentioned delays with SpaceX’s Starship program and design challenges with Axiom’s spacesuits threaten NASA’s schedule.

“NASA and its contractors have made progress, together with finishing a number of essential milestones, however they nonetheless face a number of challenges with growth of the human touchdown system and the area fits,” the GAO mentioned in a report printed Thursday. “Because of this, GAO discovered that the Artemis III crewed lunar touchdown is unlikely to happen in 2025.”

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