NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced significant delays in the Artemis program, pushing back the timetable for returning astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

The next Artemis II missionwhich aims to send four astronauts on a flight around the Moon, is now rescheduled for April 2026, while the next Artemis III moon landing mission is scheduled for mid-2027, a year later than planned.

At a press conference at NASA headquarters, Nelson attributed the delays to problems identified with the heat shield of the Orion crew capsule, which suffered damage during its uncrewed test flight in 2022.

The heat shield suffered cracks and erosion upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, raising concerns about its performance for future crewed missions.

To resolve these problems, NASA decided to modify the return trajectory of the Artemis II capsule while retaining the current heat shield design. This approach aims to avoid a greater delay which would have resulted in a redesign of the heat shield.

The Artemis program was launched during Donald Trump’s first term as president and represents a crucial effort to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon, with plans for lunar bases that could facilitate future missions to Mars.

However, rising costs and technical challenges have hampered the program. The estimated cost of Artemis through 2025 is approximately $93 billion, with each NASA Space Launch System (SLS) launch costing approximately $2 billion.

Nelson stressed the importance of meeting these new deadlines to maintain American leadership in space exploration, especially as China wants to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.

He said the United States still plans to achieve its moon landing before China, reinforcing the competitive nature of current space efforts.

The Artemis II mission, a flight carrying astronauts around the Moon to Orion but without landing, has also experienced previous delays, including one announced by Nelson in January pushing back its schedule to September 2025.

With President-elect Trump announcing the Jared Isaacmanbillionaire pilot and astronaut, replacing Nelson, all eyes will be on the new boss of NASA to ensure that Artemis flies again.

it should be mentioned that the The Artemis program is NASA’s top priority under Nelson. Trump’s first NASA chief, former U.S. Congressman Jim Bridenstine, launched the Artemis program and persuaded Congress to increase the agency’s budget to fund it.

India is also a signatory to the Artemis Accords.