It’s going to take a little longer for the next manned mission to the moon.
NASA announced Tuesday the new plan for Artemis II to fly to the moon by September 2025, at the earliest.
The original date was set for November 2024.
There is also a new target for astronauts to land on the lunar south pole, now slated for September 2026.
NASA says they are adjusting scheduling to safely carry out these missions, after running into some technical challenges.
“We are returning to the Moon in a way we never have before, and the safety of our astronauts is NASA’s top priority as we prepare for future Artemis missions,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system. Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.”
The Artemis II crew has four astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen.
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
