NASA Inspector General Warns Artemis Moon Landing Plan Lacks Rescue Capability for Stranded Astronauts
NASA's Office of Inspector General has warned that the agency's current Artemis plan for a 2028 Moon landing at the South Pole has a critical flaw: no capability to rescue astronauts if they encounter a life-threatening emergency. The landers must navigate treacherous, boulder-strewn terrain without a landing pad, and there is no prepositioned backup lander, habitat, or rover. Neither SpaceX nor Blue Origin, the two contractors developing lunar landers, have been required to produce a second, rescue-capable lander. Space scholar Brian Hurley suggests prepositioning a backup lander or delaying the landing until a rescue capability exists. The rush is driven by competition with China, which aims to land astronauts before 2030, and a White House order to return Americans to the Moon by 2028.
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