Summary
NASA has revised its plans for the Artemis Moon missions, adding an extra mission to practice docking with a lunar lander in low-Earth orbit before the first crewed Moon landing since the 1970s. Despite this change, NASA still aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028. The agency is also addressing a technical issue with the Artemis II mission rocket, which has delayed its launch to April.
Key Facts
- NASA has added an extra mission to the Artemis program before landing astronauts on the Moon.
- The additional mission involves sending a crew to low-Earth orbit in 2027 to practice docking with a lunar lander.
- The first Moon landing with Artemis will still aim for 2028, with Artemis IV and V potentially making one or two landings.
- Artemis II, involving a trip around the Moon, was delayed to April due to a helium leak in the rocket.
- NASA is working on fixing the rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- The lander for bringing astronauts to the Moon's surface has not been finalized.
- SpaceX and Blue Origin are working on plans for the lunar lander, with SpaceX's contract currently in place.
- The United States faces competition from China, which plans a lunar landing by 2030.
