The space agency has a six-day launch window at the start of April. If it misses that opportunity, it must stand down until 30 April or early May. View on euronews

The overhaul in the flight lineup came just two days after NASA’s new moon rocket returned to its hangar for more repairs, and a safety panel warned the space agency to scale back its overly ambitious goals for humanity’s first lunar landing since 1972.

Artemis’s woes, however, are just one tragedy among a veritable massacre slowly unfolding across NASA. The Trump administration has slammed the space agency with cuts, firing or forced out over 4,000 employees and closing entire buildings at some of its most iconic facilities, including NASA Goddard.

The agency will no longer attempt to land on the Moon on Artemis III, delaying the landing until 2028 on Artemis IV.