Artemis 2, the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972, will not proceed as planned.
On December 5, NASA unexpectedly announced the postponement of the Artemis 2 mission. This flight was intended to take four astronauts close to the Moon and return them to Earth, originally scheduled for September 2025.
According to the latest announcement from NASA, the mission will be delayed by nearly a year, now set to begin in April 2026.
The Orion spacecraft capturing images of the Moon during the Artemis 1 mission, conducted in November 2022 (Photo: NASA).
Additionally, Artemis 3, the crewed lunar landing mission, has also been adjusted, moving from late 2026 to mid-2027.
NASA stated that the primary reason for the mission delays is that the Orion spacecraft (the vehicle used for the mission) has not yet achieved the necessary preparations.
“The space environment is extremely harsh,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “We need more time to ensure that the Orion is qualified to take astronauts to the Moon and safely return them to Earth.”
So far, the Orion spacecraft has only completed one flight. That was the Artemis 1 mission, which lasted 25 days. This was an uncrewed test mission aimed at putting the spacecraft into lunar orbit and then returning it to Earth.
Post-flight analysis revealed that the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft was abnormally abraded during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, contrary to engineers’ predictions.
This phenomenon may have occurred due to the Orion’s deceleration strategy when returning to Earth. Specifically, the spacecraft was navigated to exit the atmosphere multiple times before finally landing.
NASA noted that this strategy was necessary to dissipate the tremendous energy generated by the Orion as it returned from the Moon at high speed.
However, several design flaws prevented this objective from being achieved. The heat accumulating on the outer layer of the heat shield and the pressure caused it to sustain unexpected damage.
Despite some studies indicating that the Orion’s heat shield is still capable of protecting astronauts during the 10-day Artemis 2 flight,
it is clear that NASA is not willing to gamble on a mission that could mark a significant turning point for humanity. Therefore, they will thoroughly eliminate any potential anomalies that could pose a risk of malfunction.
