NASA has postponed its first crewed lunar landing in over 50 years to mid-2027 due to technical issues with the Orion spacecraft's thermal shield, built by Lockheed Martin. This delay affects the Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era.
The Artemis II mission, intended to carry four astronauts in orbit around the Moon, has been pushed back from September 2025 to April 2026. NASA cited the need for additional time to prepare the Orion capsule and address technical problems with its batteries and life support systems. Fortunately, modifications to the thermal shield itself are unnecessary, despite its unexpected disintegration during the Artemis I mission.
This marks the second delay for the Artemis program this year; in January, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced a one-year postponement for crew safety reasons. The program has faced ongoing challenges, including cost overruns and technical obstacles.
According to NASA’s revised timeline, the Artemis II crew was originally scheduled to fly around the Moon in 2025, with the Artemis III lunar landing initially set for 2025 but now delayed to 2026. On December 5, officials confirmed the seven-month delay for Artemis II to April 2026. This mission is notable for potentially carrying the first woman, a person of color, and a non-American astronaut near the Moon.
NASA has been investigating the thermal shield erosion observed during Artemis I, determining that the issue stemmed from the spacecraft's re-entry trajectory. This approach, necessary to dissipate energy from high-speed lunar returns, caused heat buildup beneath the shield's outer layer, leading to the observed failure. Adjustments to the spacecraft’s entry trajectory are expected to mitigate these problems.
Additionally, the Space Launch System rocket, developed by Boeing, is experiencing significant delays, affecting the Artemis III mission, which will use SpaceX's Starship to land astronauts on the lunar surface. The new target for Artemis III is now mid-2027.
Nelson emphasized that the Artemis campaign represents humanity's most ambitious and technically challenging international endeavor. He stated that the additional time is essential to ensure the Orion capsule can safely transport astronauts into deep space and return them to Earth.
Despite the delays, Nelson noted that the 2027 target remains ahead of China's announced goal of landing humans on the Moon by 2030.