Nasa has pushed back its target date to send astronauts back to the Moon to 2025 at the earliest.
Former US president Donald Trump had set a target of 2024 for humans to set foot on the lunar surface once again. But the space agency said on Tuesday it would push back the timetable by a year after losing "nearly seven months in litigation".
It comes a day after Nasa said it would crash a spacecraft into an asteroid to test Earth's defences against cosmic threats.
The Trump administration's Artemis initiative was intended as a stepping stone towards the objective of sending astronauts to Mars.
Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said delays from legal wrangling over the SpaceX contract to build the Artemis lunar landing vehicle was a major reason for rescheduling the mission.
"We lost nearly seven months in litigation, and that likely has pushed the first human landing likely to no earlier than 2025," Mr Nelson said.
"We are estimating no earlier than 2025 for Artemis 3, which would be the human lander on the first demonstration landing."
A federal judge last Thursday rejected a lawsuit by Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin against the US government challenging Nasa’s decision to award a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to rival billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The ruling allows Nasa to resume its collaboration with SpaceX on the lander contract, although Mr Nelson said Mr Musk's company had continued development work on its own in the meantime.
Mr Nelson said Congress had previously not approved enough money for the programme and the "target of a 2024 human landing was not grounded in technical feasibility".
Mr Nelson, a former astronaut and US senator appointed by President Joe Biden to lead the space agency, said delays caused by Covid-19 also played a role.
Nasa previously aimed to return crewed spacecraft to the lunar surface by 2028, after putting a "Gateway" space station into orbit around the Moon by 2024.
But in 2019 the Trump administration set a deadline for putting Americans back on the Moon within five years "by any means necessary".
Mike Pence, vice president at the time, said the US was in a new "space race", borrowing vocabulary from the 1960s Cold War era, to counter the potential space weaponry capabilities of Russia and China.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
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Key 2013/14 UAE Motorsport dates
October 4: Round One of Rotax Max Challenge, Al Ain (karting)
October 1: 1 Round One of the inaugural UAE Desert Championship (rally)
November 1-3: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula One)
November 28-30: Dubai International Rally
January 9-11: 24Hrs of Dubai (Touring Cars / Endurance)
March 21: Round 11 of Rotax Max Challenge, Muscat, Oman (karting)
April 4-10: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Endurance)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
