NASA delays crewed Artemis moon missions into 2025 as companies navigate challenges

NASA delays crewed Artemis moon missions into 2025 as companies navigate challenges


The crew members of the Artemis 2 mission of the U.S. space agency NASA, left to right, Reid Wiseman Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, stand at a press event in the ArianeGroup building.

Hauke-Christian Dittrich | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

NASA is pushing back the schedule for upcoming missions of its flagship Artemis lunar program by about a year as the agency’s contractors work to finish technology needed to return U.S. astronauts to the moon’s surface.

“We are adjusting our schedule to target Artemis 2 for September of 2025 and September of 2026 for Artemis 3, which will send humans for the first time to the lunar south pole,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Artemis 2 — with a four-person crew, which NASA announced last spring — was previously planned to launch in November, while Artemis 3 had been targeting December 2025.

The pair of missions are set to follow the uncrewed Artemis I mission that flew in 2022. The Artemis program represents a series of missions with escalating goals, aiming to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo era.

Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC’s Investing in Space newsletter.

Nelson’s comments confirm reporting by CNN and Reuters that NASA would be pushing out the schedule for the program. Delays to Artemis have long appeared likely, especially after NASA’s Inspector General detailed challenges with crucial infrastructure of the program in a report late last year.

Artemis relies on a variety of vehicles and equipment built by companies including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Axiom Space and RTX’s Collins Aerospace are also developing lunar spacesuits to support the program.

But many of those companies still face obstacles, whether with development or technology setbacks, such as problematic batteries in Lockheed’s Orion capsule and issues demonstrating in-space refueling with SpaceX’s Starship. Already, NASA’s Artemis effort has been delayed for years, with the program running billions over budget.

NASA has spent more than $42 billion since 2012 to develop and build the systems behind the Artemis program, with the agency’s Inspector General noting that the initial missions will cost $4.2 billion per launch.

NASA's $3.5 billion contract has it renting its next-generation spacesuits

Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:



Source

Elon Musk is telling his followers to cancel Netflix subscriptions. Here’s what’s happening
Business

Elon Musk is telling his followers to cancel Netflix subscriptions. Here’s what’s happening

Elon Musk stands in the Oval Office to attend a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters Elon Musk this week urged his followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions over a controversy surrounding an animated show and its creator. Musk […]

Read More
Ultra-wealthy millennials and Gen Zers to displace baby boomers by 2040
Business

Ultra-wealthy millennials and Gen Zers to displace baby boomers by 2040

Young cheerful lady enjoying on poolside. Resting in spa hotel in pine forest in summertime. Swimming pool in tourist resort. Joyful woman on vacations, female wellbeing. Oleg Breslavtsev | Moment | Getty Images A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor […]

Read More
Government shutdown means opportune timing for Neptune Flood IPO
Business

Government shutdown means opportune timing for Neptune Flood IPO

The timing of Neptune Insurance Holdings’ IPO couldn’t be more opportune. Neptune, the nation’s largest private flood insurance, debuts on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday under the ticker symbol “NP.” The company sold more than 18 millions shares in its initial public offering at $20 apiece. The company’s first trade comes just as the […]

Read More