The announcement comes as the newly elected President Donald Trump prepares to take office in January and can significantly reform the direction of the American space agency. On Wednesday, he announced that he wants billionaire and astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
NASA had initially planned to send four astronauts around the moon – without landing on it – later this year. The trip was previously postponed to September 2025, but is now being pushed forward to April 2026.
The manned expedition to the moon, called Artemis 3, was previously moved forward to 2026. But it will have to wait even longer – until mid-2027.
However, NASA chief Bill Nelson emphasizes that "it will be long before" China's planned moon landing, which is expected to take place before 2030.
The safety of our astronauts always comes first in our decisions, he says.
