The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report indicating that NASA's highly anticipated Artemis III moon landing, originally scheduled for late 2025, is likely to be postponed until at least 2027. This delay is attributed to slower-than-expected progress in the development of both the Human Landing System (HLS) by SpaceX and new lunar spacesuits by Axiom Space. The report, released on November 30, provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and setbacks that have impacted the Artemis program, a cornerstone of NASA's efforts to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

The GAO's findings highlight several critical issues with the HLS development under SpaceX. The report notes that the project has encountered various challenges, including a condensed timeline, delayed development milestones, and extensive technical work still required. The report suggests that the pace of progress on HLS is slower than expected, with more than half the allocated schedule consumed just to reach the preliminary design review phase. This lag contrasts with the average progression rate for major NASA projects, which typically complete this phase within 35% of their overall timelines.