NASA Overhauls Moon Mission Timeline, Adds Extra Flight Before Landing Attempt

NASA announced Friday it's restructuring its Artemis moon program by inserting an additional mission before attempting a crew lunar landing. The space agency is responding to safety concerns and technical delays that have pushed back the timeline for returning humans to the moon.

The space agency announced Friday it will insert an additional Artemis mission before crews attempt to touch down on the lunar surface, responding to mounting safety concerns and technical setbacks.

This restructuring comes just 48 hours after NASA’s massive moon rocket was wheeled back into its maintenance facility for additional repairs, while a safety advisory group urged the agency to dial back its ambitious timeline for the first human lunar landing since the 1970s.

The Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts on a trip around the moon, has been delayed until April at the earliest due to ongoing rocket issues.

Originally, the subsequent Artemis III mission was scheduled to land astronauts near the moon’s south pole within the following year or two. However, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed the mission will now concentrate on launching a lunar landing vehicle into Earth’s orbit, where crews aboard an Orion spacecraft will practice docking procedures in 2027.

Under the revised schedule, actual moon landings by astronauts could occur in 2028, with the possibility of two separate landing missions that year.

“This is going to be our pathway back to the moon,” Isaacman stated.

The initial Artemis test mission in 2022 encountered hydrogen fuel leaks and helium flow issues before launching without crew members—the same technical problems that recently affected the Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Isaacman emphasized that “it should be incredibly obvious” that waiting three years between missions is unacceptable, expressing his desire to reduce that gap to one year or less.

He pointed to NASA’s historic Apollo program, noting that astronauts completed their initial moon flight and two additional missions before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin achieved the first lunar landing. Those Apollo missions launched in rapid succession, similar to the earlier Mercury and Gemini programs that sometimes flew just months apart.

“No one here at NASA forgot their history books,” Isaacman said. “We shouldn’t be comfortable with the current cadence. We should be getting back to basics and doing what we know works.”

Moving forward, NASA plans to standardize its Space Launch System moon rockets to accelerate the mission timeline and minimize risks, according to Isaacman.

Earlier this week, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel urged NASA to modify its Artemis III objectives “given the demanding mission goals.” The panel stressed the urgency of these revisions for the safe return of American astronauts to the lunar surface. Isaacman confirmed the updated flight schedule addresses these recommendations and has backing from both industry partners and the Trump administration.