NASA revamps Artemis moon landing program by modeling it after speedy Apollo

NASA announced a significant restructuring of its Artemis moon exploration program on Friday, introducing an additional practice flight and adopting a more accelerated approach reminiscent of the Apollo era. The revamped strategy aims to address mounting concerns about the program’s timeline and technical readiness.

The overhaul comes just days after NASA’s new moon rocket returned to its hangar for further repairs and following warnings from a safety panel that the space agency should temper its ambitious goals for humanity’s first lunar landing since 1972.

Under the revised plan, Artemis II—a crewed lunar fly-around mission—has been delayed until at least April due to persistent rocket problems. The subsequent Artemis III mission, originally intended to land astronauts near the moon’s south pole within three years, will now focus on testing critical docking procedures in Earth orbit.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the 2027 mission will involve launching a lunar lander into Earth orbit, where astronauts aboard an Orion capsule will practice crucial docking maneuvers. The actual moon landing has been rescheduled for 2028, with the possibility of two separate lunar landings that year.

“Everybody agrees. This is the only way forward,” Isaacman stated during the announcement.

The decision follows recurring technical challenges with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, including hydrogen fuel leaks and helium flow problems that appeared during both the recent launch attempt and the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022. Isaacman expressed particular concern about the three-year gaps between missions in the original schedule, calling such delays “unacceptable” and stating his desire to reduce the interval between flights to one year or less.

Isaacman, who joined NASA as administrator in December, brings unique experience to the role. A tech billionaire who previously funded his own orbital missions and conducted the world’s first private spacewalk, he has emphasized the need to return to the rapid-paced approach that characterized the Apollo program.

“During NASA’s storied Apollo program, astronauts’ first flight to the moon was followed by two more missions before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon,” Isaacman noted, highlighting that Apollo missions launched in quick succession—sometimes just months apart. Between 1968 and 1972, twenty-four Apollo astronauts traveled to the moon, with twelve successfully landing on the lunar surface.

“No one at NASA forgot their history books. They knew how to do this,” Isaacman said. “Now we’re putting it in action.”

The revised strategy will focus on standardizing the Space Launch System rockets while simultaneously accelerating the development of lunar landers by private contractors SpaceX and Blue Origin. Next year’s plans include testing the rendezvous capabilities of the Orion crew capsule with either SpaceX’s Starship, Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, or potentially both landers in Earth orbit.

The methodical approach mirrors the successful Apollo program strategy, where Apollo 8’s lunar orbit mission was followed by two additional preparatory flights before the historic Apollo 11 landing.

“We should be getting back to basics and doing what we know works,” Isaacman emphasized.

This restructuring directly addresses recent recommendations from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which urged NASA to revise its Artemis III objectives “given the demanding mission goals.” The panel stressed the urgency of reevaluating the program if the United States hopes to safely return astronauts to the lunar surface.

Isaacman indicated that the revised flight plan has garnered support from both industry partners and the current administration, marking a unified approach to America’s return to the moon.