Nasa’s plan to return humans to the Moon could be set back by years due to delays with SpaceX’s Starship rocket, industry experts have warned. Safety advisers for the US space agency said that fundamental challenges remain with Starship’s Human Landing System (HLS), which is expected to support the Artemis 3 mission in 2027.

Going on a ten-day trip to the Moon and back again, the crew will be be flying further into space than anyone has been before.

NASA's Glenn Research Centre in Northeast Ohio has been selected to lead the development of nuclear power systems for lunar missions.

STORY: NASA will send four astronauts on a ten-day voyage around the moon in 2026 - the latest step in a mission to land humans on the lunar surface for the first time in more than five decades.:: November 16,

NASA has selected Blue Origin to help get VIPER, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, to the moon by awarding Jeff Bezos' company a task order under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

The U.S. aims to deliver a reactor to the lunar surface and beat a push by China and Russia to do the same. In August, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy directed the agency to fast-track an effort to land a reactor on the moon by late 2029.

As the New York Times reports, experts are now warning that China could beat the United States in the race back to the Moon. After a series of successful robotic missions to the Earth’s natural satellite, the country has made major strides in its efforts to launch its “Lanyue” lunar lander to the Moon before 2030.