Members of Congress on Wednesday expressed growing concern that delays to NASA's Artemis lunar program and its enormous cost could threaten the United States' goal of sending astronauts to the moon before China, a rising space superpower.

ARTEMIS MISSION DELAYED UNTIL 2026

Last week, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced that the space agency's first attempt in more than 50 years to send astronauts to the Moon will be postponed from later this year to September 2025.

He also said that the first moon landing since the Apollo era will be delayed by about a year to September 2026.

WHY WAS NASA'S MOON LANDING DELAYED?

NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will carry Artemis astronauts to the Moon, was delayed because its heat shield showed more charring than expected during an uncrewed test flight in late 2022.

NASA also said that delays in the development of the spacecraft that will take astronauts to and from the lunar surface and in the development of the spacesuits they will wear there also affected the timeline.

COST OF 93 BILLION DOLLARS

In addition to these delays, NASA's inspector general said the total cost of the program between 2012 and 2025 could reach $93 billion.

SOLVING PROBLEMS THAT THREATEN ASTRONAUT SAFETY IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE

George Scott, NASA's acting inspector general, told lawmakers at a hearing of the House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology Committee that it is of paramount importance to resolve technical issues that could threaten astronaut safety.

"NASA faces additional challenges in achieving its Artemis goals. In doing so, the agency will also need to address long-standing concerns such as unsustainable costs, unreliable project schedules, and lack of transparency regarding funding needs."

"WE ARE NOT THE ONLY COUNTRY WITH A LUNAR LANDING GOAL"

"I remind my colleagues that we are not the only country interested in putting a man on the Moon. The Chinese Communist Party is actively seeking international partners for a lunar mission, a lunar research station, and has a goal of sending humans to the Moon by 2030.

The first country to land on the Moon will have the ability to set a precedent for whether future lunar activities will be conducted with openness and transparency or in a more restricted manner."

FIRST COUNTRY TO SOFT LAND ON THE LUNAR SURFACE AFTER NASA

After sending a spacecraft into lunar orbit in 2007 and 2010, China landed the Chang'e-3 spacecraft in 2013, becoming the first country to soft-land on the lunar surface since the US-Soviet Union rivalry fifty years ago. In early 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. And in 2020, it brought back samples from the lunar surface.

It is also noted that China is planning another landing on the far side of the Moon later this year to bring samples back to Earth.

CHINA'S PLAN TO ESTABLISH A BASE AT THE MOON'S SOUTH POLE

After all, China has said it plans to build a base near the Moon's south pole, with water in the form of ice in permanently shadowed craters.

The south pole is also where NASA plans to go as part of its Artemis program.