The Trump administration revealed earlier this year that plans were underway to establish a habitable base on the moon by the end of President Donald Trump’s second term, but a “devastating” mishap will “now almost surely” delay the mission beyond the president’s first term, Politico reported.
That mishap was the explosion of a Blue Origin rocket at Cape Canaveral in Florida, “one of the rockets NASA was relying on to get to the moon exploded,” per Politico’s Friday report.
“The destruction at Cape Canaveral – and the resulting damage to the company’s only launchpad – will likely require months of extensive repairs,” Politico’s report reads.
“Blue Origin was set to launch a key moon mission on its New Glenn rocket this year that will now almost surely be delayed. NASA is trying to build a moon base on Trump’s expedited timeline and beat China to the lunar surface, and this setback could undermine that effort.”
A NASA official, speaking with Politico on the condition of anonymity, told the outlet that the explosion would delay Trump’s moon mission by at least a year, extending the timeframe beyond the end of the president’s second term in office.
“Between the infrastructure rebuilding and the investigation and return to flight for New Glenn, and the testing campaign for Artemis III, it’s going to be at least a year’s delay,” the official said.