Nasa boss warns major astronaut Moon mission is delayed again in race against China for precious gas worth trillions
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NASA has pushed back the date of its next crewed mission to the Moon yet again, amid fears China could outpace the US to the lunar south pole. Bill Nelson, who leads Nasa, has been vocal of his fears should China beat the US to the Moon. "My concern would be if China got there first and said, 'This is our territory, you stay out'," he told a committee hearing earlier this year, which intended to approve Nasa's $25.4bn (£20.3bn) budget request for 2025.
![[The delay ultimately delays the Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon's south pole]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/nasa-artemis-3.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"Obviously you don't want to interfere with each other but don't declare that this whole territory is suddenly yours.". Artemis is Nasa's Moon campaign, and involves four uncrewed and astronaut-assisted missions. In January, Nasa said the next mission, Artemis II, would launch in September 2025 instead of late 2024.
Now the space agency has confirmed it is targeting a launch in April 2026. The extension is supposed to lend time to engineers trying to fix issues with its next-generation Orion space capsule. The uncrewed Artemis I flight in Orion in 2022 revealed the capsule posed "significant risks" after its heat shield wore away in more than 100 places.
The delay ultimately pushes back the Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon's south pole. Instead of launching in September 2026, that mission is now planned for mid-2027. The Artemis III mission forms parts of a decade-long programme that is hoped to culminate with a permanent lunar base by the end of the decade.
