Jim Free, an official at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), told reporters at a press conference on August 8 that several key elements would have to be ready - especially the landing system being developed by SpaceX - for the Artemis 3 mission to go smoothly, AFP reported.
If those aren't ready on time, "we might have to do another mission," Free said.
The spacesuit worn by astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, is on display at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Under the Artemis program, NASA plans to conduct a series of missions of increasing complexity to return to the moon and establish a sustainable presence to develop and test technologies for the journey to Mars.
The first mission, Artemis 1, sent an unmanned spacecraft around the moon in 2022. Artemis 2, scheduled to launch in November 2024, will do the same with astronauts on board.
Artemis - NASA's new moon mission - why is it important?
But it is not until the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for December 2025, that NASA plans to return to the moon with humans for the first time since 1972. This time, the plan is to land on the moon's south pole, where ice can be harvested and turned into rocket fuel.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has won a contract to develop a landing system based on a prototype version of its Starship rocket, but the system is far from ready. A test launch of Starship into orbit in April was unsuccessful.
NASA officials visited SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas a few weeks ago to "find out where they're at on hardware, try to understand more about their schedule," Free said.
Although officials gathered a lot of information during the trip, Mr. Free said he was still concerned “because they haven’t launched yet” and will need to do so multiple times before the rocket is ready.
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