NASA shuffles Artemis missions, delays moon landing

Catch up quick: NASA added a mission for 2027, and changed Artemis III from a moon-landing mission to a low-Earth-orbit demonstration mission, moving the first moon landing back one spot in the lineup.

• The moon landing is now set for Artemis IV in early 2028, and NASA is planning "at least one surface landing every year thereafter."

The latest: In a March 12 update following the Artemis II Flight Readiness Review, program leaders said the current plan is to roll Artemis II back out to the pad on March 19 with an earliest launch time of 6:24pm ET April 1.

• The calendar of launch windows has also been updated to include April 2, said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
• The April launch availability now includes April 1-6 and April 30.

Zoom in: Shawn Quinn, exploration ground systems manager, said the most recent wet dress rehearsal was largely successful but required a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building after a helium flow issue.

• The issue was traced to a quick-disconnect part where a seal was blocking helium from reaching the cryogenic propulsion stage. NASA says the issue has since been replicated, fixed and cleared for Artemis II.

How it works: NASA is also changing the hardware for those missions, including standardizing the configuration of the Space Launch System for Artemis IV.

• NASA will replace the interim cryogenic propulsion stage used for the first three missions with a new second stage, nixing the Mobile Launcher 2 and Exploration Upper Stage.
• Citing contracts out of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Spaceflight Now reports that the new upper stage will be United Launch Alliance's Centaur V.