New York/Cape Canaveral, Florida –
NASA on Friday abruptly said it was shaking up its Artemis lunar program that has suffered multiple delays in recent years, a bid to ensure Americans can return to the moon’s surface by 2028.
That goal remains unchanged, but the U.S. space agency is shifting its flight lineup to include a test mission before an eventual lunar landing to improve launch “muscle memory,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said.
That strategic revision comes amid repeated delays to the Artemis 2 mission, which was originally due to take off as early as February, but now will not launch before April. It is meant to see the first flyby of the moon in more than half a century.