It is not because the American agency has signed major contracts with its private providers that they will be ready on time. NASA audit office points to delays in SpaceX Starshipbut also future lunar spacesuits. The agenda for 2025 could be turned upside down soon.
The same week ends with two different bells… First a deputy director of the Chinese manned space branch, who confirmed that the administration of the communist country had approved the plan for astronauts from China to go walking on the Moon before 2030. Then on November 30, the public report from the GAO (NASA’s specialized audit office) was published on the American lunar landing planned for 2025, but which will undoubtedly not be able to meet this date. The agendas of the two great space powers are getting closer!
First we aim for 2025, then…
When US President Donald Trump asked his administration to put in place a plan to return to the Moon within five years, officials and experts immediately pointed out the scale of the task. Without fanfare, the objective of what is now called Artemis was then reoriented to 2025. And despite the diversity of missions entrusted to the American agency, the return of astronauts to the lunar surface has indeed become a priority.
Political, budgetary, technical: NASA was able to meet the requirements! The Orion capsule and its super-heavy launcher carried out their first test last year with Artemis I, and it was a great success. The rest of the operations are clear, with a “tour of the Moon” by three American astronauts and a Canadian at the end of next year. However, to land on our natural satellite, two other key elements are needed: the HLS lunar lander, and new spacesuits. This is what the GAO (Government Accountability Office) looked into in its latest audit. And his conclusions are not gentle.
Developments taking longer than expected
“ NASA and its contractors have made progress, and that includes passing several important milestones, but they still face multiple obstacles in the development of the HLS (Human Landing System) and spacesuits. », concludes the GAO. The study particularly points the finger at SpaceX’s Starship: its first two flights in 2023, as well as development work further away from the public, have made it possible to show significant progress at NASA… But there remains a lot to do before being able to take astronauts land on the Moon. Beyond reliability towards orbit and in space which is still lacking, the GAO points out the major challenge represented by the multiple propellant supplies that the Lunar Starship will have to receive in low orbit before being able to propel itself towards the Moon. SpaceX has only shown “limited progress” on the subject. Boring, less than 2 years from the supposed mission…
According to the GAO, even the time allocated to SpaceX when signing the contract was more than a year less than the time observed until now to develop a manned vehicle in the service of the United States.
On the other hand, the audit office points to the work of Axiom Space, again estimating a delay in the development of the first lunar spacesuits produced in a public/private partnership. NASA placed an order with Axiom, which was originally intended to resume work carried out for 14 years in the American agency’s laboratories. But in recent months, it seems that the equipment must undergo several modifications and improvements to take into account all the safety criteria linked to a trip to the Moon (including a one-hour air reserve in case of emergency) . These modifications, despite the good will of Axiom, will cause the project to be delayed.
If it’s not 2025, then what will it be?
Will 2025 be an impossible date to aim for? The GAO does not have a crystal ball, the office is there to pinpoint NASA’s budget, agenda and management problems. He nevertheless provides his own estimates, based on the progress observed today, and concludes with a possible window in 2027. If NASA comes to the same conclusion, it would be theoretically possible to insert another mission in place of ‘Artemis III and move the lunar landing to Artemis IV, but that would pose other problems. It would indeed be necessary to modify the current production contract for the giant SLS launcher, Artemis IV having to use new equipment for the moment (the EUS upper stage).
There is no doubt that 2024 will be a pivotal year for the program, especially given the upcoming presidential elections: it is the politicians who set the amount allocated to the American agency each year. Since October 1, as American representatives and senators have not agreed, NASA has been funded by a CR resolution, that is to say, it still does not know its budget for 2023-24 and that it operates blindly on an equivalent level of financing.
In the meantime, despite their high prices, the contracts signed by NASA with SpaceX and Axiom are budgetarily advantageous for the American taxpayer: delay or not, the amounts are the same. At the cost of the calendar?
Source : CBS News
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