The human return to the Moon, delayed

MIAMI (EFE).— The American space companies SpaceX, by Elon Musk, and Blue Origin, by Jeff Bezos, face delays that could postpone NASA missions of the Artemis program, which seeks a permanent presence on the Moon, an audit of the government agency warned.

“Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have experienced schedule delays and face technical and integration challenges that have the potential to further impact landing costs and delivery dates. In particular, SpaceX’s lander will not be ready for a lunar landing in June 2027,” the report stated.

NASA has invested $6.9 billion to create human lunar landing and landing systems since 2019, with total spending estimated at $18.3 billion by 2030, including contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop devices that allow astronauts to land, live and work on the Moon.

The Office of the Inspector General of the US agency found that the agency has “controlled costs and collaborated effectively” with both private companies, but acknowledged that there are “challenges that will delay the planned launch dates of Artemis”, a project that seeks to return humans to the Moon.

While deliveries agreed with SpaceX have been delayed by up to two years, one from Blue Origin has been delayed “at least” eight months, the report established.

The audit comes amid the changes facing the NASA mission, which in February announced that Artemis III, which was intended as the return of humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, will be brought forward to 2027, but now it will only be an intermediate mission in low Earth orbit.

The promised moon landing would occur no earlier than 2028, although NASA first announced a mission at the beginning of that year, Artemis IV, and another new one at the end, Artemis V.

“To accelerate development of a module to meet the 2028 lunar landing date, NASA is evaluating proposals from SpaceX and Blue Origin, but it is too early to determine the technical feasibility, financial implications, and schedule impacts of these proposals,” the report added.

Among the factors that explain the delay, the audit highlighted safety tests, since until now the space agency “does not have the capacity to rescue a stranded crew from space or the lunar surface” during the planned missions.

At a glance

Mission overdue

NASA is still trying to carry out its Artemis II mission this year, which will send four astronauts on a flight around the Moon to test the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket, but the launch has been delayed until at least April, after being scheduled for February.

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