NASA is backing away from its plans to land on the moon

NASA announced in press conference It announced Friday that it is delaying its plans for a lunar landing until Artemis IV in 2028. The Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027, was originally going to attempt a lunar landing but will now be a test flight instead. NASA also says it is “Increasing the frequency of its missions” Including adding a second test flight in 2027 and aiming for “at least one surface landing every year after that,” including an Artemis IV landing.

A major overhaul of Artemis’ release schedule follows Report from NASA’s Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) Earlier this month, he highlighted serious safety risks with NASA’s previous plans for future launches. ASAP was particularly concerned about Artemis III, which its report said involved too many “technical, operational and cumulative schedule risks associated with multiple unique objectives planned for a single mission.”

It faced the Artemis 2 mission, scheduled for this year A series of issues During testing during recent weeks, delaying its launch until no later than April. Artemis 2 aims to orbit the moon, and if successful, it will be the first time humans have visited lunar orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.