Nasa wants to return to the moon. It is behind schedule

Nasa plans to send four astronauts around the moon as soon as February.

So what? The US won the space race when it landed in 1969. Now it intends to triumph all over again. The lunar flyby will last ten days and is the second phase of Nasa’s much delayed Artemis space programme, which

• aims to return mankind to the moon’s surface for the first time in more than half a century;
• could pave the way for the moon’s colonisation; and
• is seen as a stepping stone for an eventual crewed mission to Mars.

Moonshot. Nasa’s first attempt to put a man on the moon took seven years. Announced during the first Trump administration, the current effort is on eight years and counting. The crewed flight around the moon and a lunar landing were supposed to happen by 2022 and 2024 respectively.

Systems glitch. Technical difficulties have beset Artemis, with faulty sensors, fuel leaks and flimsy heat shields creating delays at every phase of the programme. Nasa is now targeting mid-2027 for its return to the moon’s surface, though some think it won’t happen until 2032.

Nitty gritty. Artemis uses a rocket called Space Launch System to take astronauts into lunar orbit. They will then transfer to a Starship built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for the landing. The process involves a new in-flight refuelling system and is far more complicated than the original Apollo missions.

Starbase, we have a problem. SLS was successfully tested in 2022, but there are still problems with the capsule which will carry the astronauts. Meanwhile, Starship is far from operational. It exploded in three of its four tests this year. Musk has called the reusable spacecraft “a candidate for most difficult engineering project ever”.

Eye (not) on the prize. There are also fears Musk is not fully committed to Artemis. In January he called the moon mission a “distraction” from his main goal of getting to Mars.

In the rearview. China has set 2030 as its target for a lunar landing. It also wants to establish a permanent research base, powered by a mini nuclear power station, on the moon’s south pole with Russia by 2035.

The race is on. If China were to beat the US to the moon, it would be a moral victory for Beijing that demonstrates the ability of its authoritarian system to innovate and marshal resources.

Here we go again. This aspect of space race 2.0 echoes the central theme of the original, which was a battle to demonstrate the technological prowess of American democracy and its edge over the Soviet Union.

Evolution. But space is very different today. Innovation is being led by private companies, and militaries are establishing a presence there. The moon is now known to have water-based ice, which could sustain a human settlement, as well as an abundance of minerals such as iron.

Lunar land grab. Nasa’s acting head, Sean Duffy, worries China and Russia could declare a “keep-out zone” if they get to the moon first, preventing the US from establishing a base.

Zero sum. This view stands in contrast to the spirit of international collaboration that characterises the International Space Station. Since it was established in 1998, nearly 300 astronauts from 26 countries have visited the site, which will be deorbited in 2030.

Adding up. Nasa has partnered with SpaceX and other companies to save money on Artemis. But the project’s costs have spiralled and are forecast to reach $93 billion by the time it returns to the moon. SLS is particularly expensive to run, costing more than $4 billion per launch.

What’s more… The US should have had a head start, after George W Bush initiated a return to the moon programme in 2004. But it was scrapped by Barack Obama to save money.