NASA Artemis moon missions delayed until 2026 and 2027

NASA on Thursday postponed a mission to send four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth until April 2026.

The move is the latest setback for Artemis, the government space agency's return-to-the-moon program, which has already faced years of delays.

A subsequent mission to land astronauts near the south pole of the moon is now scheduled for mid-2027, Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, said during a news conference Thursday.


The adjustment to the Artemis schedule comes as the Nelson prepares to leave the agency when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

Even though Trump had set the goal of sending astronauts back to the moon during his first administration, he could change his mind after he takes office. In the coming months, NASA could instead put more money toward another destination that Trump has talked about: Mars.

The first of the two missions that were delayed Thursday, known as Artemis II, is set to be the first in more than 50 years to send astronauts close to the moon. It will also be first time that astronauts launch on top of NASA's giant new Space Launch System rocket and then swing around the moon inside a crew capsule called Orion before returning to Earth and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission will not land on the moon.

The Artemis II crew will consist of three NASA astronauts -- Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch -- and one Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen.

Nelson expressed confidence that the Artemis program would continue despite its delays and cost overruns. He said he had spoken to the leaders of companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and SpaceX that are manufacturing key components for the mission as well as international partners.

"We must have a shared sense of urgency among all these partners, and I think we have," Nelson said.

He emphasized that a mid-2027 target for the moon landing would still beat plans by China to send its astronauts to the moon in 2030.

The first of the two missions that were delayed on Thursday, known as Artemis II, is set to send astronauts closer to the moon than they have traveled in more than 50 years.

The Artemis II crew will consist of three NASA astronauts -- Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch -- and a Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen.