NASA delays first moon landing in more than 50 years to 2027

NASA is delaying its first moon landing in more than 50 years by several months to 2027, as engineers at the agency race to fix critical safety issues with the hardware and adjust plans needed for future flights.

Agency officials also told reporters on Thursday they were delaying a precursor mission called Artemis II, which will send a crew of four flying by the moon, by seven months to April of 2026. That flight is set to carry the first woman, person of color, and non-American astronaut to the vicinity of the moon.

The round-trip mission is part of a step-by-step plan to land humans back on the moon at some point this decade. The delay comes a day after President-elect Donald Trump nominated SpaceX astronaut and billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA Administrator.

The main driver of the delay are ongoing issues with the Lockheed Martin Corp.-built Orion spacecraft's heat shield, which is necessary for protecting the crew from scorching temperatures when the vehicle returns to Earth and plunges through the planet's atmosphere.

During a dress rehearsal mission in 2022 without a crew on board, chunks of the heat shield detached from the capsule during its Earth return, raising concerns about its ability to keep future crews alive.

The agency decided after extensive testing to keep the existing heat shield but alter the vehicle's trajectory as it enters Earth's atmosphere, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Thursday.

The rocket powering the craft to space, Boeing's Space Launch System, is also years behind schedule and has been plagued by technical setbacks and cost overruns.