NASA is returning humans to the
moon to maintain U.S. leadership in
space exploration and prepare for
future missions to Mars. NASA is
implementing the Artemis missions
to meet these goals. To accomplish
the Artemis III mission as planned by
December 2025, NASA needs to
develop, acquire, and integrate
several new systems. These include
a system to transport crew to and
from the lunar surface, and space
suits for lunar surface operations.
NASA is using a relatively new
approach to acquire the human
landing system and space suits that
is intended to increase innovation
and improve affordability. To develop
the lunar lander, NASA awarded a
contract option to SpaceX in 2021.
To develop Artemis space suits, it
awarded a contract to Axiom Space
in 2022. This report describes the extent to
which NASA has made progress in
developing key systems needed to
land humans on the moon in 2025,
and has processes in place to
ensure that those systems will meet
NASA’s needs and be safe.
GAO assessed NASA data,
documentation, and policy; analyzed
contract documentation, contractor
risk charts, and technology
maturation plans; and interviewed
NASA officials and industry
representatives. GAO-24-106256
Authors
- Published in
- United States of America
