Under the revised plan, the Artemis III mission will focus on testing systems and operational capabilities in low Earth orbit in 2027 in preparation for the Artemis IV moon landing mission in 2028, NASA said in a news release.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Tan Jingjing
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — NASA on Friday announced adjustments to the Artemis moon exploration program, adding missions ahead of the planned manned moon landing and delaying the landing from 2027 to 2028.
Under the revised plan, the Artemis III mission will focus on testing systems and operational capabilities in low Earth orbit in 2027 in preparation for the Artemis IV moon landing mission in 2028, NASA said in a news release.
NASA said the Artemis III mission will include rendezvous with and docking with one or both of the commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, in-space testing of the docked vehicles, a comprehensive checkout of life support, communications and propulsion systems, and testing of a new spacewalk suit.
“Standardizing vehicle configurations, increasing flight speeds, and achieving our goals in a logical, step-by-step approach is how we achieved the near-impossible in 1969, and how we will do it again,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
NASA recently completed two critical wet dress rehearsals and identified technical issues for the Artemis II human lunar mission.
After rehearsal, NASA returned the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission from the launch pad to the vehicle assembly building for troubleshooting.
The team has begun to address the helium issue discovered in the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and is preparing several measures, including replacing the flight termination system battery and conducting end-to-end testing to meet range safety requirements.
NASA also announced new leaders Thursday for two key roles in human spaceflight. Joel Montalbano will serve as acting deputy administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and Dana Hutcherson will serve as acting program manager for the Commercial Crew Program.
The agency said the newly announced workforce directive is a key element in enabling Artemis’ mission to accelerate.
NASA plans to rebuild the core competencies of its civil servants, including increasing in-house development work and collaborative development work with Artemis partners, to enable safer, more reliable and faster launch cadences.
NASA plans to launch Artemis II in April and is awaiting the results of data analysis, repair work and schedule evaluations in the coming days and weeks.
The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on a roughly 10-day journey around the moon and back.
The crew consists of NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. ■