The Artemis II and III missions, intended to return U.S. astronauts to the Moon, have been postponed. During a press conference, NASA officials cited issues with the heat shield and life support systems, pushing the launches to 2026 and 2027.

On December 5, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman provided an update on the Artemis program, which is focused on returning U.S. astronauts to the Moon and establishing a permanent human presence there.

Figure 1. The Artemis Program Aims to Create a Permanent Human Presence on The Moon

In a statement, officials explained that issues with the heat shield, which protects the crew capsule during reentry into Earth's atmosphere, along with ongoing challenges with the environmental control and life support systems of the Orion spacecraft, have necessitated another delay in the mission timelines. Figure 1 shows The Artemis program aims to create a permanent human presence on the Moon.

Originally slated to launch between 2019 and 2021, the Artemis II mission—intended to send two U.S. astronauts and one Canadian astronaut around the Moon—was first delayed to 2023, then to September 2025, and now to April 2026.

Meanwhile, Artemis III, designed to land astronauts at the Moon's south pole, has been pushed to no earlier than mid-2027. Speculation has arisen about potentially canceling the lunar landing or redirecting the mission to low Earth orbit for technology testing.

The primary reason cited for the delay revolves around the heat shield, the largest ever constructed for a crewed spacecraft. It is composed of an epoxy novolac resin called Avcoat, enhanced with special additives and embedded in a fiberglass honeycomb matrix. Originally developed for the Apollo Command Module, the material has since been reformulated to comply with modern environmental regulations.

The heat shield issue arose during the Artemis I uncrewed mission. As the spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere at lunar-return speeds of 25,000 mph (40,000 km/h), parts of the shield were charred but failed to ablate as intended. Subsequent testing revealed that gases generated within the material under the extreme reentry temperatures did not vent properly, causing cracks in the shield and resulting in fragments breaking away.

The latest delay adds to a series of setbacks for NASA's Artemis program, which has faced criticism over its mission objectives and reliance on 1970s-era Space Shuttle technology for the Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle. The program has also been plagued by significant cost overruns, with the budget ballooning to $93 billion by 2023 and an estimated cost of $2.2 billion per launch, despite achieving only one launch every two years.

This situation is particularly embarrassing as SpaceX plans to launch a rocket larger than the SLS up to 25 times in 2025, with a higher launch rate and significantly lower costs thereafter. Additionally, other private launch companies are advancing their capabilities, with some staging lunar missions and even planning interplanetary ventures in the near future.

Despite the setbacks, NASA is proceeding with preparations for Artemis II, stacking the Orion spacecraft onto the SLS rocket, while also assembling the Orion module for Artemis III. The agency continues to express confidence in the program, though the delays and hesitancy to adapt to modern advancements in space technology have led some critics to suggest that NASA should pivot away from space launch and human spaceflight programs. Instead, they argue, the agency could focus on deep space exploration, where it has excelled in recent years.

"The Artemis campaign is the most daring, technically challenging, collaborative, international endeavor humanity has ever set out to do," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "We have made significant progress on the Artemis campaign over the past four years, and I’m proud of the work our teams have done to prepare us for this next step forward in exploration as we look to learn more about Orion’s life support systems to sustain crew operations during Artemis II. We need to get this next test flight right. That’s how the Artemis campaign succeeds."

Source: NASA

Cite this article:

Janani R (2024), NASA's Return Missions to The Moon Face Another Delay, AnaTechmaz, pp. 137