NASA announced on Tuesday that it is on track to send astronauts to orbit the Moon in early 2026, as the United States competes with China to be the first to return to the lunar surface.
Multiple delays have pushed back the manned mission, known as Artemis 2, which is now scheduled for no later than April 2026, with a possibility of launching as early as February.
“We intend to keep that commitment,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, a senior NASA official, at a press briefing on Tuesday. The crew, consisting of three American astronauts and one Canadian, will be the first to orbit the Moon in over half a century.
This mission will not land on the Moon; that goal is reserved for Artemis 3. The U.S. space agency’s Artemis program is a multi-stage effort to return humans to the Moon, while China is moving forward with a rival program that aims to send its first crewed mission by 2030 at the latest.
During his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has put pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress. The Republican leader, who first announced the Artemis program during his initial term, wants the space agency to return to the Moon and also to make a voyage to Mars as soon as possible.
Both U.S. and Chinese efforts ultimately plan to establish permanent bases on the Moon. The Trump administration has referred to this as a “second space race,” drawing a comparison to the Cold War-era competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.
“There is a desire for us to return to the surface of the moon and to be the first to return to the surface of the moon,” Hawkins said, before emphasizing that “NASA’s objective” is “to do so safely.”
