While NASA could be forced to end its SLS programs (space Launch System) et OrionOrion After the ARTEMIS III mission, due to the budgetary proposals of the Trump administration, this decision raises concerns about the future of lunar exploration. The uncertainties impact not only the agency itself, but also its industrial partners, in particular Boeing for Sls and Lockheed Martin for Orion. Despite these challenges, the dream of exploring Mars from a lunar base is still present within NASA, which mobilizes its political relations in favor of financing the Artemis program.
Despite these uncertainties, the preparation of the Artemis II mission continues with determination. Scheduled for April 2026, this mission will last approximately ten days and send a crew of four astronauts – three from NASA and a Canadian – to make a flight around the Moon and the Earth. Taking into account the lessons learned from the Flight Artemis I, which was launched without crew in 2022, NASA remains vigilant to guarantee the safety and efficiency of future inhabited missions.
For the Artemis II mission, in order to take into account the technical problems encountered with the thermal shield during Artemis I (November-December 2022), astronauts will make a lunar passage instead of entering orbit. This approach reduces the complexity of the mission while allowing you to test advanced systems. In addition, they will adjust their back -to -school trajectory in theatmosphereatmosphere Terrestrial when the moon returns, thus guaranteeing optimal test conditions for these essential technologies. An approach that simplifies the mission while retaining the objective of critical tests.
Land on the moon before the Chinese
As for the Artemis III mission, it could mark the last use of the SLS and the Orion vehicle. Scheduled for the second half of 2027, this mission is also affected by delays in the development of several key equipment and especially in the lunar stars of SpaceXSpaceXwhich is supposed to transport astronauts to the lunar surface and bring them back to orbit.
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Despite these delays, NASA remains confident, saying that the United States maintains an advance on China, which recently announced its intention to send astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade. The American agency is determined to make its astronauts walk on the lunar floor before the Chinese Taikonauts.
As for the preparation of launcherlauncher SLS and the Orion vehicle, it continues at the Kennedy space center, where the integration of the interim cryogenic propulsion floor (ICPS) on the main floor, already equipped with two boostersboosters Powder, progresses well. In addition, the Orion spacecraft, accompanied by its service module provided by theEuropean Space AgencyEuropean Space Agency (ESA), will soon be assembled to the launcher.
