CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA disclosed on Thursday that there would be further delays in returning astronauts to the moon, marking over half a century since the last Apollo mission.
Administrator Bill Nelson announced that the upcoming Artemis mission, which plans to send four astronauts on a journey around the moon, is now scheduled for April 2026. Originally, the mission was slated for September 2025 but has already been pushed back due to ongoing developmental challenges and issues that arose after this year’s operations.
The delay has also impacted the subsequent Artemis mission, which aims for a two-astronaut moon landing and is now projected to take place no earlier than 2027 instead of 2026 as previously planned.
The Artemis program, intended as a modern continuation of the historic Apollo moon landings from the 60s and 70s, has so far completed just one mission. In 2022, an uncrewed Orion capsule successfully orbited the moon after launching on NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Despite a successful launch and orbit, the capsule returned with significant damage to its heat shield, primarily due to the intense conditions experienced during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Engineers have spent considerable time investigating the causes of this degradation and formulating corrective actions.
According to Nelson, the subsequent manned flight will utilize the Orion capsule equipped with its original heat shield but will involve modifications to its reentry mechanics to mitigate damage. Engineers indicated that fully replacing the heat shield would lead to an extensive delay, pushing the mission timeline even further.
Initial tests during the flight involved the capsule dipping repeatedly into the atmosphere, leading to gas accumulation in the heat shield’s outer layer, which caused cracking and insufficient shedding of materials.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman, who will command the lunar fly-around, participated in the announcement from NASA’s headquarters. He is joined by fellow astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman expressed the frustrations associated with the delays but emphasized the importance of thoroughly understanding the prior damage, enabling them to move forward with their mission plans.
Throughout the Apollo program, 24 astronauts made the trek to the moon, and 12 of them successfully landed. Notably, the last footprints on the lunar surface were left during Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Nelson highlighted that the updated timeline still aims for U.S. astronauts to return to the moon ahead of China’s projected crewed mission in 2030. Further stressing the urgency, he has alerted all Artemis contractors, including SpaceX, to intensify their efforts in adhering to the revised schedules. SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which is currently undergoing increased test flights in Texas, is intended to transport astronauts from Orion into lunar orbit for the first two Artemis moon landings.
Nelson also revealed that he has reached out to Jared Isaacman, a billionaire pilot associated with SpaceX and recently nominated by Trump to lead NASA, inviting him to visit NASA headquarters in Washington.
