The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said that astronauts will not get to the Earth's satellite in 2024. The mission was postponed for at least another year.
The postponement of the first — after the Apollo program - landing of a man on a natural satellite of the Earth, with reference to the head of NASA Bill Nelson, was reported by TASS. "The goal of the Trump administration to land people [on the moon] in 2024 had no basis in terms of technical feasibility," the agency quotes him as saying.
NASA decided to postpone the manned flyby of the Moon by the Orion spacecraft from 2023 to 2024. Among the reasons for the delay are the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the trial of the lunar lander. According to the plan, four astronauts will go to the satellite. At the final stage, the ship with the crew is driven into the Atlantic.
Orion ship with ATV-based service module and third stage
Image source: wikipedia
The landing of a man on the moon should be the next stage. Taking into account all the difficulties, it can now be expected no earlier than 2025. Before delivering astronauts to the satellite, an unmanned vehicle must land there.
The Artemis program was announced in 2019. It consists of three stages. During the first Orion should fly around the moon without people on board. The launch date of the superheavy Space Launch System launch vehicle with the device was previously called 2021, but now they want to launch in February next year.
The above-mentioned second stage was planned to be held in 2023. Finally, a manned flight to the satellite with a landing on its surface was hoped to be carried out in 2024 (now, as we know, these deadlines are irrelevant).
The transfer did not come as a surprise. Earlier, during an internal audit of the Artemis program, serious delays were found in the creation of its components. Difficulties, among other things, concerned spacesuits: as it turned out, NASA contractors disrupted the deadlines.
xEMU Lunar Spacesuit
Image Source: NASA
Independent observers are increasingly talking about the beginning of a new "moon race" between the United States and China. Beijing has made it clear that it will not be limited to launching automatic stations to the satellite. The Changzheng-9 superheavy rocket and a promising manned spacecraft will make it possible to perform a manned flight to the Moon. The first flight of the carrier may take place closer to the end of the decade.
In the future, China and Russia want to create a lunar station . At the same time, the Russian lunar program itself is systematically facing difficulties. Earlier it became known that the first mission to the Earth satellite in the history of modern Russia will be launched no earlier than next year. According to an informed source, the optimal day for this is July 23.
