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WASHINGTON: The United States is pushing back its planned return of astronauts to the surface of the Moon from 2025 to 2026, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday (Jan 9) amid technical challenges and delays.
Artemis, named after the sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, was officially announced in 2017 as part of the US space agency’s plans to establish a sustained presence on Earth’s nearest space neighbour and apply lessons learned there for a future mission to Mars.
Its first mission, an uncrewed test flight to the Moon and back called Artemis 1, took place in 2022, after several postponements.
Artemis 2, involving a crew that doesn’t land on the surface, has been postponed from later this year to September 2025, Nelson told reporters.
Artemis 3, in which the first woman and first person of colour are to set foot on lunar soil at the Moon’s south pole, should take place in September 2026.
“Safety is our top priority, and to give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges,” said Nelson.
NASA is also looking to build a lunar space station called Gateway where spacecraft will dock during later missions.
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