The ambitious Artemis project to carry the first woman to the Moon hit snags in recent testing. Artemis III is now grounded until September 2026, a delay of nearly a year. Artemis II, a preliminary trip around the Moon, is similarly rescheduled for September 2025.
Originally, Artemis II was to launch this November. But officials called for a delay after identifying technical issues with a battery and wiring, NASA revealed in a news release.
In order to safely carry out our upcoming #Artemis missions to the Moon with astronauts, we are now targeting September 2025 for Artemis II and September 2026 for Artemis III.
Safety is our top priority. https://t.co/AjNjLo4U6E pic.twitter.com/VE74OtlUr6
— NASA (@NASA) January 9, 2024
The delays come amid an ongoing investigation into unexpected damage to a spacecraft on a previous mission phase. Several pieces of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield broke off during the re-entry of Artemis I last December.
“The safety of our astronauts is NASA’s top priority,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
NASA added that the delay gives Artemis’ private industry partners — such as SpaceX and Blue Origin — more time to deliver on their human landing designs. Axiom Space, which is developing the astronauts’ next-generation spacesuits, may likewise welcome a little breathing room.
Meanwhile, the astronauts — including mission specialist Christina Koch, the prospective first woman on the moon — will wait it out.
Christina Koch, NASA astronaut since 2013. Photo: NASA
