NASA postpones the Artemis 2 mission to the moon

NASA announced, on Tuesday, the postponement of the Artemis 2 lunar mission, in which Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is participating, for approximately a year, pending resolution of technical problems.

The mission was originally scheduled for November this year, but will be postponed until September 2025.

The US space agency provided an update on Tuesday on the timeline for the upcoming lunar mission. NASA decided to postpone due to a number of technical issues and to allow more time for preparation.

The subsequent mission, Artemis III, which will land astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, has been postponed until at least September 2026. NASA has already made it clear that a woman and a “person of color” will be part of the mission. From this mission to the south pole of the moon.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson described the Artemis program as “incredibly different” from previous NASA missions. “We remind everyone that safety is our top priority,” he said during a conference call. To give the Artemis teams more time to address challenges related to early development, operations, and integrations, we will devote more time to Artemis II and III. »

The Artemis 2 mission involves a flyby, a circular maneuver around the far side of the Moon, before returning to Earth.

This will be the first space flight for Canadian Jeremy Hansen, along with veteran NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch. It will also be the first manned flight of the Orion capsule and the first mission to the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

Mr. Hansen, 47, of London, Ont., will also be the first “non-American” to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Another Canadian astronaut, Jenny Gibbons, 35, from Calgary, was named a “reserve” in November to replace Mr. Hansen, who was appointed last April, if necessary.

“Artemis II members will be the first humans to look at the dark side of the moon,” said NASA associate administrator Jim Frye. I can only imagine all the photos and recordings they will bring back to capture these moments, but also to enrich our understanding of the Moon. »

“Scuffing” failure

News of the mission's postponement came just an hour after a Pittsburgh company abandoned its attempt to land its spacecraft on the moon, due to a fuel leak that ended the mission.

Astrobotic Technology's “Peregrine” lander was launched Monday as part of NASA's commercial lunar program, serving as a reconnaissance for future astronauts. A Houston company will seize the opportunity to land its own lander next month.

In late November 2022, NASA launched Artemis 1, an unmanned Orion spacecraft that orbited the Moon before returning to Earth.

Officials highlighted a number of problems with the Orion capsule on Tuesday, including a circuit issue and a battery problem critical to environmental and life support systems. They also said additional testing and analysis were needed after Artemis I unexpectedly lost layers of its heat shield.

NASA officials said the crew continues to work hard to learn the systems, monitor and provide feedback on the spacecraft's instruments. In December, Mr. Hansen told The Canadian Press that the crew was training and learning a new job using new systems.

“We probably have more question marks than you can imagine, because this is a test and development program. Basically, we are going as fast as we can,” Mr. Hansen said.

Jim Free, for his part, stressed that NASA is committed to “launching our friends and colleagues on missions as safely as possible,” but “when we are ready.”

The Artemis IV mission, which will be the first Gateway lunar station assembly mission, is still scheduled for September 2028. The small lunar base orbiting the moon will include a Canadian contribution, Canadarm 3.

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