Why is NASA postponing flights to its moon?

SLS, Orion, Lunar Lander … all of these programs are delaying the return of the United States to the moon, with a date set for the end of 2024. Added to this is the problem of creating new generation space cases. An example from NASA is NASA’s report that landing on the moon is impractical.

One step Bureau Report NASA Inspector General’s new generation space suit, Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), released on August 10, will not be ready by November 2024. Originally scheduled date to mark US return to the moon.

As the document states, these combinations will not be available until early April 2025. The nearly 20-month delay is caused by a lack of funding, the impacts of Govt-19 and technical challenges.

Financial problems arose after 2021, when Congress approved 77% of the total amount requested by NASA for this project. Gateway Space Station. Authorities therefore reduced the budget for the xEVA project, in which the xEMU mix was reduced from $ 209 million to $ 150 million. This 28% decrease caused a delay of at least three months in the growth schedule of xEMUs.

Infection also played a role. The XEVA program was delayed for at least three months.

The case presented a number of challenges at a technical level, especially those related to the Life Support System (xPLSS).

The report notes that $ 420 million has already been spent on the project, but the total for these additions will exceed $ 1 billion.

These delays caused a backlash Elon Musk On Twitter, he offered the help of his company, SpaceX.

Other factors involved

The audit work previously carried out by this office similarly showed significant delays in other major projects required for lunar landings, particularly the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

They are further related to the recently resolved disagreement on the lunar surface growth and development agreement.