NASA’s upcoming Artemis 3 mission was supposed to be the first manned trip to the lunar surface in more than half a century. Prior to this, there will be two previous Artemis missions to prepare and plan for the upcoming moon landing. Artemis One succeeded. Artemis 2 is the first manned mission to orbit the moon since Apollo 17. But it has also been hampered by delays and is now scheduled to launch as early as April, which will apparently also delay the final Artemis 3 mission. Understandably, NASA has now announced the cancellation of Artemis 3, largely due to setbacks and delays in previous missions, and that America’s return to the moon will come later, after taking incremental and “evolutionary” steps.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shared the news during a press conference at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, February 27. Isaacman said the current roster “is not the right path forward,” according to NPR. Artemis 2 will still go ahead, probably as planned in April. NASA will take incremental steps to improve the mission’s success rate, with more risk-free vehicle improvements said to be made to reduce delays and glitches experienced so far. Technically, Artemis III is still classified as a mission and will still happen; only when it does, future missions will take place in low-Earth orbit and no humans will land on the moon. As of now, it is planned for mid-2027. Ultimately, if all goes according to plan, the Artemis IV mission will land on the lunar surface sometime in 2028.
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We’re still going to the moon, just not on the next Artemis mission
Artemis rocket and space shuttle in front of moon concept. – Dimazel/Shutterstock
Landing on the moon or returning to the lunar surface is not entirely off the table. As of now, NASA still plans to send astronauts back to the moon for scientific research and development. But the final mission will come later, one or more “steps” later than originally scheduled. It has been revealed that Artemis 3 will operate in low-Earth orbit, while Artemis 4 will land on the moon as planned. As Isaacman explained, “We have to go back to the basics.” The additional missions will allow NASA team members to gain more flight experience and become more familiar with the complex systems that control the spacecraft on the ground and in space.
The hope is that improved delivery times will help reduce delays, software issues and other problems that have long plagued the Artemis mission series. It’s very possible that everything we knew before the Artemis III launch will still apply to the upcoming Artemis IV mission. NASA will still use the next-generation lunar rover, and likely still use the same mission maps. The biggest change is that what was supposed to happen during Artemis 3 is now postponed and replaced with a low-Earth orbit research flight to help the team with more training and preparation.
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