NASA has delayed its Artemis missions that aim to send astronauts to the moon. The new schedule means Artemis 2, the first crewed mission, will now launch in April 2026.

This is the second delay, as the mission was originally planned to launch earlier. In addition, the Artemis 3 mission, where astronauts will actually land on the moon, is now set for mid-2027.

The delay happened because of problems with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield during the uncrewed Artemis 1 test flight. During this mission, the heat shield experienced unexpected damage.

Although the data showed that the temperatures inside the spacecraft would still have been safe for astronauts, the heat shield’s performance was not what was expected.

NASA wants to make sure everything is fully tested and safe before sending astronauts into space, so they decided to take more time to fix the issue.

Reid Wiseman, the NASA astronaut who will lead the Artemis 2 mission, said he and his fellow astronauts are excited to fly on Artemis 2 and help continue the journey of exploring the moon and eventually Mars.

The other astronauts on the mission are Victor Glover and Christina Koch from NASA, along with Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.

The Artemis 2 mission will be a 10-day flight around the moon and back to Earth. Although the astronauts won’t land on the moon, this mission is important because it will provide more information about the Orion spacecraft, which will be used for future missions.

The Artemis 3 mission will be the one where astronauts land on the moon, specifically at the south pole of the moon. This mission is expected to take place in mid-2027, after all necessary preparations are complete.

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