Last Updated: Jan 10, 2024 |
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8:44PM |
@NASA
US space Agency NASA has postponed its plans to send humans to the moon after delays hit its hugely ambitious Artemis programme.
The agency has announced the Artemis III mission to land four astronauts near the lunar south pole will be delayed a year until September 2026. Artemis II, a 10-day expedition to send a crew around the moon and back to test life support systems, will also be pushed back to September 2025.
NASA said, the delays would allow its teams to work through development challenges associated with the programme.
Artemis III mission aims to get space boots bouncing again on the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.
The announcement came barely an hour after a Pittsburgh company abandoned its own attempt to land its spacecraft on the moon because of a mission-ending fuel leak. Launched on Monday as part of NASA’s commercial lunar program, Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lander was supposed to serve as a scout for the astronauts.
