@nowthisimpact: NASA is delaying its plan to send astronauts to the moon. As part of its Artemis program, the agency intends to send a crewed mission to fly around the moon and another that will land near the lunar South Pole. The moon flyby is delayed until September 2025, while the landing is delayed until September 2026. 'To safely carry out these missions, agency leaders are adjusting the schedules for Artemis II and Artemis III to allow teams to work through challenges associated with first-time developments, operations, and integration,' NASA said in a release. NASA also said that its teams are currently working on addressing a battery issue and challenges with a component that's responsible for ventilation and temperature control. Another reason for the delay involves SpaceX's Starship rocket, which NASA is using to take the astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back. During 2 different test flights in 2023, the rocket exploded. The new schedule will allow SpaceX — as well as Axiom Space, which is developing the moonwalking suits for the missions — to have additional time for testing and refinements. The fourth mission in the Artemis program, Artemis IV, is still on track for 2028. The mission involves sending astronauts to the Gateway lunar space station, where they'll live and work. #nasa #moon #astronaut #artemisprogram

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Wednesday 10 January 2024 20:10:43 GMT