NASA won't be able to land humans on the moon on time because of problems with the SpaceX Starship
Due to the unavailability of the SpaceX Starship, the third mission in the Artemis lunar programme is likely to be postponed by a year. This is the second time the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has postponed Artemis III.
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Initially Starship's problems were related to certification, but in April this year the explosion of Ship 24 and Booster 7 prototypes was added to the list. For this reason, NASA is calling for acceptance that the first landing of astronauts on the moon in decades will not take place in 2025.
The Artemis lunar programme kicked off last year with the launch of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, which circled the moon and returned home. NASA intends to conduct the Artemis II mission in late 2024, but this time there will be astronauts aboard the spacecraft.
The landing was originally planned for 2024, but back in 2021 NASA announced that the Artemis III mission would take place at the end of 2025. Now it appears that it will be postponed until December 2026.
As for Starship, the spacecraft doesn't just need a successful orbital flight. In preparation for Artemis III, it will be sent to the Moon to confirm the safety of the mission. SpaceX also needs to set up the infrastructure for refueling so that the craft has enough fuel to reach our satellite's orbit.
Source: space
