The US is failing to explore water on the Moon as the principal goal of Artemis

And, countries allied with the US are facing delays in their own missions, allowing China to lead in this aspect of lunar exploration too.

Illustration showing the distribution of permanently shadowed regions (in blue) on the Moon’s south pole, superimposed on a digital elevation map. Image: NASA / GSFC / Timothy McClanahan / LOLA

It’s now been more than seven years since NASA officially started its Artemis program to fulfill the US government’s Space Policy Directive of sustaining a human presence on or around the Moon. And it’s been nearly two decades since the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 legislated a mandate to such end:

The Administrator shall establish a program to develop a sustained human presence on the Moon, including a robust precursor program, to promote exploration, science, commerce, and United States preeminence in space, and as a stepping-stone to future exploration of Mars and other destinations. The Administrator is further authorized to develop and conduct appropriate international collaborations in pursuit of these goals.

The National Space Policy adopted by the US White House in 2020 added the following:

The United States shall extend human economic activity into deep space by establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon, and, in cooperation with private industry and international partners, develop…