NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, stated today that it was on schedule to send men to orbit the Moon in early 2026. This is because the US is racing China to get back to the Moon’s surface.
AFP writes that the manned mission, called Artemis 2, has been delayed by several problems. It is now expected to take place in April 2026 at the latest, but it might happen as early as February.
At a news conference today, Lakiesha Hawkins, a high-ranking NASA official, declared, “We plan to keep that promise.”
The crew is made up of three American astronauts and one Canadian. They are likely to be the first people to orbit the Moon in more over 50 years.
But the mission won’t land there; Artemis 3’s purpose is to do that.
The Artemis program from the US space agency wants to send people back to the Moon. At the same time, China is working on its own program that aims to send people to the Moon by 2030 at the latest.
During Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States, his government has put a lot of pressure on NASA to speed up its work.
The Republican leader who started the Artemis program wants the US space agency to go back to the Moon as soon as feasible and then go to Mars.
Both plans call for setting up bases on the Moon in the end.
The Trump administration has talked about a “second space race” after the Cold War struggle between the US and the Soviet Union in the 20th century.
Hawkins remarked, “There is a desire for us to return to the surface of the moon and to be the first to return to the surface of the moon.” He then stressed that “NASA’s objective” is “to do so safely.”
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