NASA’s Artemis Reality Check Arrives

In case you haven’t noticed, the Artemis II mission hit several glitches last month related to Space Launch System (SLS) leaks. NASA made a bad bet with the SLS. It is old technology, a throwaway rocket booster that may be even less capable than the Saturn V used during the Apollo Program.

SpaceX has learned from NASA’s early days of testing reusability and engineered it into its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Reusability today is limited to launch stages. The SpaceX Starship plans to be totally reusable with a heavy launch first stage, and the Starship sitting atop. Problems remain as SpaceX overcomes design challenges. A version of it was to be used as the Human Landing System (HLS) in Artemis III. HLS development has largely been confined to drafting boards, making a 2027 or 2028 date for completion questionable.

It took two tries for Jared Isaacman to be named NASA administrator. Since getting Senate approval, he has been visiting NASA facilities and reviewing Artemis and its timelines. Isaacman has expressed concerns about the program’s viability. On February 27, 2026, he told reporters,

“Launching a rocket as important and as complex as SLS every three years is not a path to success…It should be incredibly obvious you don’t go from one uncrewed launch of Orion and SLS, wait three years, go around the Moon, wait three years and land on it.” 

Isaacman continued, “There has to be a better way, in line with our history. We did not just jump right to Apollo 11. We did it through Mercury, Gemini, and lots of Apollo missions with a launch cadence of every three months…We should be getting back to basics and doing what we know works.”

Artemis: A Failed Strategy?

The delayed Artemis II mission was to loop around the Moon to test the Orion capsule’s life support systems and the changes being made to SLS as the rocket received the latest upgrades. I say was because of repeated delays for this mission and the entire program.

Re-entry for Artemis II after ten days was to provide proof that the technology was reliable and that a modified trajectory and heat shield remedy would not produce a repeat of the near-catastrophic erosion observed in Orion’s Artemis I return.

Now the rocket, scheduled to fly the first week of February 2026, is back in its assembly building while NASA resolves several ongoing problems. If it flies, it will likely be in late March or April.

NASA Shifts Artemis Strategy

Isaacman has had only a few months to get NASA back to basics. Where Artemis III was scheduled to return humans to the lunar surface in 2028, it will no longer. Now it will launch in 2027, never flying beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) while it does rendezvous and docking tests, shades of Apollo 9. A second 2027 LEO test is also being considered.

Part of the Artemis Program includes a Moon-orbiting space station, the Lunar Gateway. It is to be assembled in stages, beginning with an initial module launch by a Falcon Heavy sometime in 2027. Subsequent SLS launches, including the Artemis IV mission, will deliver finishing modules if the Gateway remains part of the plan.

When envisioned, Lunar Gateway was to include a habitat with radiation shielding, a command control hub, multiple docking ports and a refuelling station in the event of a future mission to Mars.

Gateway is to feature Hall-Effect thrusters to keep in orbit around the Moon. With the revised timelines for Artemis missions, it is difficult to determine if or when Gateway will deploy. If the mission gets further redesigns, Gateway may be eliminated.

NASA Moon Landing 2028 or Later

Artemis IV in early 2028 looks like the mission that will return NASA astronauts to the Moon. It may also deliver modules to add to the Lunar Gateway. On the other hand, Artewmis IV may be Gateway-free, docking with an HLS in lunar orbit. The astronauts would then transfer and descend to the lunar surface, the first to walk on the Moon since 1972.

Should we put the date in our calendars? Considering the changes Isaacman is already instituting, I suspect further tinkering with Artemis to streamline the mission while ensuring the technology will work and keep the astronauts safe. Beyond this, the one driving issue pushing the Artemis timetable is a space race with China. China has announced plans to put taikonauts on the Moon by 2030. If 2028 or 2029 are missed by NASA, it may be a Chinese crew taking “One small step for man.”