By Art Raymond, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — A new federal report finds NASA's plans to put astronauts back on the moon in 2025 via the multiphase Artemis program was overly optimistic to begin with and now, with multiple delays afoot, returning humans to the lunar surface appears more likely in 2027 at the earliest.

In an assessment, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that NASA and its contractors had made progress since the auditing body's last report in September 2022. "They still face multiple challenges regarding human landing system and the space suits." Auditors also noted failures in recent attempts at orbital tests of the SpaceX Starship rocket system slated to power NASA astronauts' return to the moon are also contributing to extended timelines.

The GAO report underscored that NASA may have erred in its estimation of timelines for the planned advancements in the Artemis program, calculating shorter development windows than the agency has used in the past for less complicated projects.

"The complexity of human spaceflight suggests that it is unrealistic to expect the program to complete development more than a year faster than the average for NASA major projects, the majority of which are not human spaceflight projects," the report reads. "GAO found that if development took as long as the average for NASA major projects, the Artemis III mission would likely occur in early 2027."

Auditors also noted that NASA is making unprecedented use of third-party contractors to reach the goals established for the different phases of the Artemis program.

"To accomplish the Artemis III mission as planned by December 2025, NASA needs to develop, acquire, and integrate several new systems," the report reads. "These include a system to transport crew to and from the lunar surface, and space suits for lunar surface operations. NASA is using a relatively new approach to acquire the human landing system and space suits that are intend to increase innovation and improve affordability."

Those contractors include SpaceX, which is tasked with developing the system to get astronauts to the lunar surface and Axiom Space, the company working to develop a next-generation spacesuit for Artemis astronauts.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50806346/nasas-plan-to-return-astronauts-to-the-moon-falling-behind-schedule-according-to-new-audit