NASA's Artemis 3 mission faces uncertainty amidst delay concerns

A senior official at the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mentioned on Tuesday that the Artemis 3 mission, aimed at returning Americans to the moon, could potentially transform into a "different mission" if there are any delays concerning key mission components, such as the lunar landing vehicle, which is being manufactured by SpaceX.

The Artemis program, overseen by NASA, consists of increasingly challenging missions with the ultimate goal of establishing a permanent human presence on the moon in preparation for future missions to Mars.

The program started with the Artemis 1 mission, during which an uncrewed spacecraft was sent around the moon in the fall of last year. The Artemis 2 mission is expected to send astronauts around the moon by the end of 2024.

Artemis 3, slated to launch after Artemis 2, will be the first mission to land astronauts on the moon's surface since 1972.

SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, is responsible for building the lunar landing vehicle that will carry the astronauts to the lunar surface.

The vehicle, which is not yet ready, will be a version of the "Starship" spacecraft that exploded shortly after liftoff in a test flight a few months ago. No new date has been set for a second test.

During a press conference on Tuesday, NASA's Associate Administrator, Jim Free, stated, "For Artemis 3, we are still working with various parties on contractual dates, which is December 2025."

He continued, "But it might turn into a different mission," adding, "If significant delays are encountered, we will consider launching other missions."

Free did not respond to a question from a journalist about whether the mission might involve sending a spacecraft around the moon without landing on its surface again. Other missions within the Artemis program are aimed at building "Gateway," a small space station orbiting the moon.

Free, who highlighted another prominent aspect of the Artemis 3 mission, the still-evolving spacesuits, expressed concerns about the difficulties SpaceX faced during the construction of the "Starship" spacecraft.

He mentioned a recent visit by a NASA team to Texas, where SpaceX is working on the future lunar landing vehicle. He stated that NASA teams "tried to understand the company's timeline better," promising to share any new developments on the matter as soon as "certainty" is obtained from all the information.

He remarked, "We don't want any timeline without margins."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFP