Tech Desk 
Dec 06, 2024
The much-awaited Artemis II mission has been postponed until April 2026, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The Artemis II builds on the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022 and will demonstrate a broad range of capabilities needed for deep space missions.
Prior to the delay in the question, earlier the Artemis II mission was pushed from 2024 to September 2025.
NASA's Artemis II mission
Spanning 10 days, the Artemis II mission will send four astronauts, including Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, to the moon.
It will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the Space Launch System (SLS ) rocket and Orion spacecraft, paving the way to land the first woman on the Moon on Artemis III.
Why NASA delayed Artemis II mission?
The delay in NASA’s Artemis II mission is primarily due to issues with the Orion capsule's heat shield, which experienced unexpected charring during the uncrewed Artemis I mission in November 2022.
As per investigations, the heat shield did not allow gases generated inside the Avcoat material to escape, causing cracking and breakage.
Notably, for Artemis II, NASA engineers have decided to modify the capsule's trajectory to ensure crew safety, using the existing heat shield.
Moreover, the Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon near its south pole, is now scheduled to launch by mid-2027.
