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NASA Reworks Artemis Moon Program, Prioritizing Safety and Stepped Approach
Kennedy Space Center, FL – NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has unveiled a significant restructuring of the agency’s Artemis lunar program, acknowledging that the previous 2028 target for landing astronauts on the moon was unrealistic without additional preparatory missions. The revised plan emphasizes a more deliberate, step-by-step approach to mitigate risks and ensure astronaut safety, a move that comes on the heels of a critical report from NASA’s independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel.
Under the new strategy, 2027 will see an additional flight where astronauts will conduct crucial tests in low-Earth orbit. This mission will involve docking with new commercial moon landers for in-depth evaluations of navigation, communications, propulsion, and life support systems, as well as verifying rendezvous procedures.
This preparatory mission will pave the way for at least one, and potentially two, lunar landing missions in 2028, incorporating vital lessons learned from the preceding flight. The overarching goal is to accelerate the launch cadence of the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket while progressing through Artemis missions in evolutionary stages, avoiding missions that rely on too many untested technologies and procedures simultaneously.
“We’re going to get there in steps, continue to take down risk as we learn more and we roll that information into subsequent designs,” Isaacman told CBS News. “We’ve got to get back to basics.”
Isaacman detailed the revised plan during an interview and subsequent news conference on Friday. The announcement closely followed a sharply worded report from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which deemed the original Artemis III plans too risky. The panel specifically highlighted concerns regarding the numerous “firsts” required by the initial Artemis III moon landing mission and recommended a program “restructure” to achieve a more balanced risk posture.
Isaacman noted the alignment of the new plan with the panel’s observations: “It is interesting that a lot of the things that we are addressing directly go to the points they raised in their report. I can’t say we actually collaborated on it because I generally think these were all pretty obvious observations.”
The program adjustments also come as NASA faces delays with the Artemis II mission, which aims to send four astronauts on a trip around the moon. Originally slated for early February, the launch has been postponed due to a hydrogen leak and, more recently, a helium pressurization issue in the rocket’s upper stage, pushing the launch to at least April 1.
The Artemis III mission, initially planned for a 2028 lunar landing, will now be redefined and rescheduled for 2027. Instead of a moon landing, the yet-to-be-named astronauts will rendezvous and dock in Earth orbit with one or both of the commercially built lunar landers under development by SpaceX and Blue Origin. This mission aims to gain invaluable near-term flight experience before attempting a crewed moon landing.
Following a successful Artemis III, NASA aims to launch two moon landing missions, Artemis IV and V, in 2028, utilizing one or both landers, with a target of one moonshot per year thereafter.
“What helps us get to the moon? Well, for sure, rendezvous and docking with one or ideally both landers, that gives you an opportunity to do some integrated testing of a vehicle that we are going to depend upon the following year to take those astronauts down to the surface of the moon,” Isaacman explained to CBS News. The revised Artemis III mission will also provide an opportunity for astronauts to test new spacesuits in microgravity.
The concept of the revised Artemis III test flight, involving lander dockings in Earth orbit, draws parallels to Apollo 9, which in 1969 conducted similar flight tests of its command module and lander in Earth orbit, ultimately paving the way for the Apollo 11 landing just four months later.
Isaacman confirmed that both SpaceX and Blue Origin are “looking to do uncrewed landing demonstrations as part of the existing agreement,” and the new plan will leverage these efforts to ensure future success. “This is the proper way to do it, if it works out from a timing perspective, to be able to rendezvous and dock with both. … This, again, is the right way to proceed in order to have a high confidence opportunity in ’28 to land.”
For Artemis IV and V in 2028, the missions will utilize whichever landers are deemed ready for service. If only one company’s lander is available, it will be used for both missions; if both are ready, each will be deployed for one flight.
Achieving Artemis III, IV, and V before the end of 2028 presents a significant challenge, underscoring the necessity for NASA to rebuild its workforce and technical expertise to support a higher launch cadence. Moving from approximately one flight every 18 months to an annual flight schedule, Isaacman argues, will ultimately reduce risk.
“When you regain these core competencies and you start exercising your muscles, your skills do not atrophy,” he stated. “It’s safer. And yes, you are buying down risk, because you’re able to test things in low Earth orbit before you need to get to the moon, which is exactly what we did during the Apollo era.”
Isaacman refrained from blaming NASA’s contractors for the current slow pace of launches, instead suggesting that “we should have made better decisions (in the past) and said, you don’t go from Artemis II to landing on the moon with Artemis III.”
Safety Advisers Called for Changes to “High Risk” Plans
The overhaul of the Artemis program directly addresses concerns raised by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, whose report concluded that the original plan to proceed directly from Artemis II to a lunar touchdown in 2028 using a SpaceX lander lacked an adequate margin of safety and appeared unrealistic. The panel’s recommendation to “restructure the Artemis Program to create a more balanced risk posture for Artemis III and future missions” has been largely incorporated into Isaacman’s new strategy.
Officials confirmed that Isaacman had discussed accelerating lander development with both SpaceX and Blue Origin, both of whom are on board with the revised timeline. Discussions were also held with Boeing (SLS rocket and first stage), United Launch Alliance (rocket’s upper stage), Lockheed Martin (Orion spacecraft), and other Artemis contractors, all of whom expressed agreement.
Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, stated, “Boeing is a proud partner to the Artemis mission and our team is honored to contribute to NASA’s vision for American space leadership. We are ready to meet the increased demand.”
SpaceX added, “We look forward to working with NASA to fly missions that demonstrate valuable progress towards establishing a permanent, sustainable presence on the lunar surface.” Blue Origin enthusiastically responded, “Let’s go!
We’re all in!”
In another significant change, Isaacman announced that the agency will halt development of a more powerful version of the SLS rocket’s upper stage, known as the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). Instead, NASA will proceed with a “standardized,” less powerful stage. This decision aims to minimize major changes between flights and utilize the same launch gantry, simplifying operations.
The original Artemis architecture envisioned multiple versions of the SLS rocket, including the current “Block 1,” a more powerful EUS-equipped Block 1B, and an even larger Block 2 model. The latter two versions required a taller mobile launch gantry, which is already under construction at the Kennedy Space Center.
“It is needlessly complicated to alter the configuration of the SLS and Orion stack to undertake subsequent Artemis missions,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator. “The entire sequence of Artemis flights needs to represent a step-by-step build-up of capability, with each step bringing us closer to our ability to perform the landing missions. Each step needs to be big enough to make progress, but not so big that we take unnecessary risk given previous learnings.”
Consequently, NASA will continue with the current version of the SLS, incorporating the “standardized” upper stage, with further details yet to be provided.
Isaacman concluded the CBS interview by emphasizing that flight-tested hardware, a revitalized workforce, and an Apollo-like management strategy are only part of the equation. “There’s another ingredient that’s required, and that’s the orbital economy, whether it happens in low-Earth orbit or on the lunar surface,” he said.
“We’ve got to do something where we can get more value out of space and the lunar surface than we put into it. And that’s how you really ignite an economy, and that’s how everything we want to do in space is not perpetually dependent on taxpayers.”