Washington, Feb 28 (UNI) NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman has unveiled a massive overhaul of its Artemis programme, acknowledging that the agency’s previous plan to land astronauts on the Moon in 2028 was not realistic without preparing an additional preparatory step.
Under the revised approach, NASA will announce on a new mission in 2027 focused on testing commercially developed lunar landers in low-Earth orbit before committing astronauts to a surface landing.
As per the programme, instead of attempting a complex leap from a lunar fly-by to a touchdown, NASA will instead move in stages, aiming to reduce technical risk and rebuild operational momentum.
That flight will be followed in turn, by at least one and possibly two lunar landing missions in 2028, incorporating lessons learned from the preceding flight.
According to Isaacman, the programme is intended to avoid stacking multiple unproven systems and procedures into a single mission; he elaborated that the goal, is to integrate testing progressively and apply lessons learned to subsequent flights.
The decision follows a critical report by NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which concluded that proceeding directly from Artemis II to a crewed lunar landing would involve too many first-time operations and insufficient safety margins.
The panel recommended restructuring the programme to adopt a more balanced risk profile.
“We’re going to get there in steps, continue to take down risk as we learn more and we roll that information into subsequent designs,” Isaacman said told CBS News. “We’ve got to get back to basics.”
The panel proceeded to raise concerns about the number of “firsts” required by the original Artemis III moon landing mission and recommended that NASA “restructure” the program to create a more balanced risk posture.
“It is interesting that a lot of the things that we are addressing directly go to the points they raised in their report,” Isaacman said Friday.
“I can’t say we actually collaborated on it because I generally think these were all pretty obvious observations.”
The delayed Artemis II mission – designed to carry four astronauts on a journey around the Moon – currently remains grounded as engineers are currently addressing technical issues with the rocket’s upper stage. Launch is now expected no earlier than April 1.
Under the new plan, Artemis III will launch in 2027 but will not attempt a lunar landing. Instead, the crew will rendezvous and dock in Earth orbit with one or both of the commercial landers under development by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The objective is to conduct integrated systems testing in orbit before entrusting astronauts to a descent mission.
NASA has announced that it intends to carry out two lunar landing missions in 2028 – Artemis IV and V – using whichever lander systems are flight-ready.
If both companies meet readiness targets, each could support a separate mission; if only one vehicle is available, it would be used for both flights.
The revised Artemis III mission will also allow astronauts to evaluate next-generation lunar spacesuits in microgravity, gathering operational data ahead of future moonwalks.
Isaacman also confirmed that NASA will halt development of a more powerful upper stage for the Space Launch System (SLS), known as the Exploration Upper Stage.
Instead, the agency will standardise the current configuration to avoid repeated structural changes between missions. Officials argued that simplifying the rocket stack would reduce complexity and improve reliability.
NASA had previously envisaged multiple SLS variants, including more powerful future configurations requiring new launch infrastructure. The revised plan opts for continuity over expansion in the near term.
Isaacman said the shift is not intended as a rebuke to contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which are central to the SLS and Orion spacecraft, but rather a recalibration of programme management.
He has also discussed accelerating lander development timelines with SpaceX and Blue Origin, both of which are reportedly aligned with the updated strategy.
Under the original Artemis architecture, NASA planned on multiple versions of the SLS rocket, ranging from the “Block 1” vehicle currently in use to a more powerful EUS-equipped Block 1B and eventually an even bigger Block 2 model using advanced solid rocket boosters.
The latter two versions required use of a taller mobile launch gantry, already well under construction at the Kennedy Space Center.
“It is needlessly complicated to alter the configuration of the SLS and Orion stack to undertake subsequent Artemis missions,” Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, said in a statement.
A key aim of the overhaul is to increase launch frequency from roughly one flight every 18 months to one per year. Isaacman argued that regular operations would strengthen workforce expertise, reduce risk through repetition and restore technical confidence – drawing parallels with the incremental progression of the Apollo programme.
He also stressed that long-term sustainability will depend on developing an orbital and lunar economy capable of generating value beyond government funding alone.
Concluding the interview, Isaacman said that flight-tested hardware, a revitalised work force and a more Apollo-like management strategy are only part of the story.
“There’s another ingredient that’s required, and that’s the orbital economy, whether it happens in low-Earth orbit or on the lunar surface,” Isaacman said.
“We’ve got to do something where we can get more value out of space and the lunar surface than we put into it. And that’s how you really ignite an economy, and that’s how everything we want to do in space is not perpetually dependent on taxpayers.”
