The Artemis IV mission that will return humans to the moon was postponed to 2028 a few weeks ago. NASA wants to test the spacecraft that will be used in low-Earth orbit first before the mission to the moon.
But the Artemis mission now faces more serious issues after a report by the NASA Administration found that the lunar lander program is facing delays, technical problems, and unresolved crew safety risks.
The focus is on the SpaceX Starship Human Landing System (HLS) and Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 2 landing vehicles that will be used. If either vehicle suffers a major failure, NASA will not have the rescue capability to return astronauts from the lunar surface or lunar orbit. In addition, if the HLS fails to function or fails to dock with Orion/Gateway, the crew is at risk of being lost.
The report also touched on the fact that neither vehicle has a manual control system for the crew to take over in an emergency. SpaceX and NASA disagree on the need for manual control for the Starship HLS, although it is part of NASA's requirements. A similar system for Blue Origin is still unclear.
During the Apollo Missions over five decades ago, the Apollo Lunar Module landing was controlled by the crew when it was 500-2000 meters above the lunar surface. The Artemis mission proved that returning to the moon is not an easy task, even though it has been done before.
