This is due to the delay in the development of spacesuits.
The landing of astronauts on the moon in 2024 due to delays in the development of spacesuits is not possible. This is stated in a report distributed on Tuesday by NASA Inspector General Paul Martin.
“Given the expected delays in the development of spacesuits, a landing on the Moon at the end of 2024, as currently planned by NASA, is not possible,” said Martin, who oversees NASA’s activities.
According to NASA’s plans, he explained that the first two new xEMU spacesuits ready for flight (Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit – a mobile system for extravehicular research) should be manufactured by November 2024. Still, the management “faces significant difficulties in achieving this goal.” We are talking about a delay in the planned work, which has already reached 20 months. It is associated with a lack of funding, the consequences of the pandemic and technical problems. Taking into account some requirements, the report notes, “the spacesuits will be ready for flights no earlier than April 2025.” Moreover, by the time there are two ready-to-fly spacesuits; NASA “will spend more than a billion dollars on the development and assembly of next-generation spacesuits.”
