NASA postpones the manned lunar landing: what happened and how is Elon Musk involved? (photo)

In December 1972, two NASA astronauts visited the Moon for the last time during the "Apollo 17" mission, and since then, only unmanned spacecraft have been to Earth's satellite. NASA's new lunar program, called "Artemis," was established in 2017, with the initial plan for astronauts to return to the Moon in 2024. The timeline for the crewed mission was subsequently pushed to 2025, then to 2026, and now it has been revealed that the plans have changed once again. On December 5, during a press conference, NASA representatives announced that due to technical issues with the spacecraft designed to transport astronauts to the Moon, the return to Earth's satellite will not occur until at least mid-2027, as reported by Space.

Two crewed lunar missions have been rescheduled

NASA officials stated that additional time is needed to better prepare the Orion spacecraft for its first crewed mission to the Moon. This spacecraft was launched into space without a crew 10 years ago on a test flight to low Earth orbit. The first full mission of the spacecraft took place at the end of 2022. During the "Artemis-1" mission, the Orion spacecraft, with no crew onboard, spent 25 days in space, orbited the Moon, and returned to Earth. While the mission seemed successful, it turned out that was not the case.

Due to ongoing technical issues being addressed by NASA engineers, as reported by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the first crewed lunar landing of the 21st century during the "Artemis-3" mission has been postponed from late 2026 to mid-2027. Consequently, the crewed "Artemis-2" mission, during which astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft are to orbit the Moon and return to Earth, has also been rescheduled from September 2025 to April 2026.

What happened to the Orion spacecraft during the lunar mission?

After the Orion spacecraft returned to Earth in December 2022, NASA engineers discovered that its thermal protection system had sustained more damage than previously thought. Although the temperature aboard the spacecraft remained within safe limits, meaning the crew would have been safe, the significant damage to the spacecraft's thermal protection during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere poses a major concern.

A lengthy investigation into the causes of the damage to the Orion spacecraft's external structure led to some findings, as reported by NASA representatives. According to Pamela Melroy, NASA's Deputy Administrator, when the spacecraft entered Earth's atmosphere on a specific trajectory, heat accumulated within the outer layer of the thermal protection system, resulting in gas formation and accumulation within the shield. This led to increased pressure, causing the outer layer to crack more severely than expected, resulting in the loss of more parts.

The Orion spacecraft can safely transport astronauts to the Moon

NASA's investigation revealed that despite this, the thermal protection system of the Orion spacecraft can withstand a 10-day flight to the Moon as part of the "Artemis-2" mission. This means the astronauts should be safe. To enhance mission safety, engineers need to develop a new entry trajectory for the spacecraft that minimizes potential issues with the thermal protection system.

According to Melroy, the new entry trajectory into Earth's atmosphere will allow the Orion spacecraft to land in the Pacific Ocean closer to the California coast. This means that the four astronauts of the "Artemis-2" mission can receive assistance more promptly if anything goes wrong.

NASA representatives stated that if a decision were made to replace the thermal protection system of the Orion spacecraft, the "Artemis-2" mission would take place later. However, some modifications to the spacecraft are necessary regarding the power source and life support systems to ensure it is ready for launch in April 2026.

Another reason for the delay of the lunar landing in the "Artemis-3" mission

The astronaut landing on the Moon has been postponed to 2027 not only due to issues with the Orion spacecraft but also because the lunar lander is not ready. This lander will be one version of the SpaceX Starship spacecraft created by Elon Musk's company. As of now, the Starship is still under development. This spacecraft serves as the upper stage of the Starship mega-rocket, with the lower stage being the Super Heavy launch vehicle. To date, there have been six test flights of the Starship, but there is still much work ahead.

The race for the first human lunar landing of the 21st century

Even with the postponement of the "Artemis-3" mission to 2027, the United States is still ahead of China, which plans to land its astronauts on the Moon's surface by 2030. Bill Nelson believes that Americans will still be the first, as there are all necessary possibilities. However, China has been consistently following its schedule and has not altered its plan for landing astronauts on the Moon for several years. NASA has changed its plans multiple times already.