Space fans will have to wait a little longer to see the Artemis II mission take flight.
NASA is once again delaying the mission that will take four astronauts around the moon and back, part of the multi-voyage Artemis program that aims to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972.
The agency had targeted September of 2025 for the mission, but NASA officials announced the launch of Artemis II will now take place in April 2026.
The agency also announced that Artemis III, the mission that will land astronauts on the moon's surface, is delayed until mid-2027.
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The decision comes after an extensive investigation of an Artemis I heat shield issue following its test flight in November 2022.
According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the extra time is needed to ensure that the Orion capsule is ready and as safe as possible for the crew.
"The safety of the astronauts is always first in our decisions, it is our north star,” he said at a press conference announcing the delay. “We do not fly until we are ready. We do not fly until we are confident that we have made the flight as safe as possible for the humans on board."
"And so we are planning for Artemis II to launch in April of ‘26,” he said. "Assuming the SpaceX lander is ready, we plan to launch Artemis 3 in mid-2027."
Artemis I, an uncrewed moon orbiting mission, launched in November 2022 as the first test flight of the Orion spacecraft.
