NASA pushes back astronaut flights to moon again
Cape Canaveral (AP): NASA announced more delays Thursday in sending astronauts back to the moon more than 50 years after Apollo.
Administrator Bill Nelson said the next mission in the Artemis program -- flying four astronauts around the moon and back – is now targeted for April 2026. It had been on the books for September 2025, after slipping from this year.
The investigation into heat shield damage from the capsule's initial test flight two years ago took time, officials said, and other spacecraft improvements are still needed.
This bumps the third Artemis mission — a moon landing by two other astronauts — to at least 2027. NASA had been aiming for 2026.
NASA's Artemis program, a follow-up to the Apollo moonshots of the late 1960s and early 1970s, has completed only one mission. An empty Orion capsule circled the moon in 2022 after blasting off on NASA's new Space Launch System rocket.
Although the launch and lunar laps went well, the capsule returned with an excessively charred and eroded bottom heat shield, damaged from the heat of reentry. It took until recently for engineers to pinpoint the cause and come up with a plan.
NASA will use the Orion capsule with its original heat shield for the next flight with four astronauts, according to Nelson, but make changes to the reentry path at flight's end. To rip off and replace the heat shield would have meant at least a full year's delay and stalled the moon landing even further, officials said.
During the flight test, NASA had the capsule dip in and out of the atmosphere during reentry, and gases built up in the heat shield's outer layer, officials said. That resulted in cracking and uneven shedding of the outer material.
The commander of the lunar fly-around, astronaut Reid Wiseman, took part in Thursday's news conference at NASA headquarters in Washington. His crew includes NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
“Delays are agonizing and slowing down is agonizing and it's not what we like to do,” Wiseman said. But he said he and his crew wanted the heat shield damage from the first flight to be fully understood, regardless of how long it took. Now they can focus with this “large decision behind us."
Twenty-four astronauts flew to the moon during NASA's vaulted Apollo program, with 12 landing on it. The final bootprints in the lunar dust were made during Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Nelson said the revised schedule should still have the United States getting astronauts back on the lunar surface before China, which has indicated 2030 for a crew moon landing.
The space agency has put all the Artemis contractors, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, on notice to “double-down” to meet the schedule deadlines, according to Nelson. SpaceX's mega rocket Starship — making test flights from Texas with increasing frequency — is how astronauts will get from the Orion capsule in lunar orbit down to the surface on the first two Artemis moon landings.
Nelson said he's already called Jared Isaacman, the SpaceX-flying billionaire nominated this week by Trump to lead NASA, and invited him to NASA headquarters in Washington.
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Waqf bill attack on Constitution's basic structure, INDIA bloc opposes it: Gogoi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday said the INDIA bloc will oppose the proposed changes to the Waqf law and called the bill an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution with an aim to dilute its provisions, defame minorities, disenfranchise them and divide the Indian society.
Hitting back, former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said when large number of Waqf properties are lying vacant and being looted, the government has all powers to bring a law to regulate it.
He told Gogoi that while he cited Constitution, he did not present a complete picture on its various provisions authorising government to bring laws on various issues, including Waqf properties.
Initiating the debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Gogoi accused the government of misleading Parliament, referencing past discussions on the matter.
"This bill is an attack on the basic structure of our Constitution, an attack on our federal structure, and has four primary objectives: to dilute the Constitution, to defame minority communities, to divide Indian society, and to disenfranchise minorities," he alleged.
"The claim that the 2013 UPA government did not act on this issue is false. Repeated allegations have been made," Gogoi said, questioning the necessity of the amendments.
He further argued that the bill had not been adequately discussed with minority representatives.
"In 2023, four meetings of the Minority Commission were held, and yet, there was no mention of the need for a Waqf amendment bill. I ask the government - was this bill drafted by the Minority Affairs Ministry or some other department?"
The opposition MP also raised concerns over Clause 3, which defines individuals practising Islam.
"Minorities are now being forced to prove their religious identity with certificates. Tomorrow, will people from other faiths also have to do this? This is against Article 26 of the Constitution," he said.
"Which community do you want to mislead? The same community that fought for India's independence? The community that sacrificed alongside Mangal Pandey in 1857? You want to tarnish the reputation of a community in which 2 lakh ulema were martyred? You seek to defame the community that supported us during the Quit India Movement? You want to stain the name of the community that supported the Dandi March on April 6, 1930?" Gogoi said.
"You wish to malign the community that opposed the British policy of divide and rule in 1926? You aim to taint the community whose leader, Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani, demanded complete independence?" he added.
Gogoi also accused the government of spreading misinformation about the bill's impact on women's rights.
"There is an attempt to create the illusion that the existing law discriminates against women. In reality, the law already has provisions for the protection and empowerment of women, including widows," he said.
He also claimed that the Joint Parliament Committee did not take any suggestions of the Opposition into consideration.
Gogoi noted the reduction in revenue allocation from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, arguing that instead of reducing it, the government should consider increasing it to 11 per cent to strengthen the Waqf Board. He also claimed that provisions on imprisonment had been diluted.
"There is a clear attempt to take control of Waqf properties. Today, their eyes are on one minority group; tomorrow, they will target another. We support necessary reforms, but this bill will only lead to increased litigation and more problems," he said.
Countering the Opposition attack, Prasad said the church community is also in favour of Waqf amendment bill as churches too are facing the problem of encroachment by Waqf bodies.
He said the government cannot watch silently as corruption on Waqf properties continue unabated.
"Waqf is not a religious body; it is a statutory body. There are over 8 lakh Waqf properties, including schools, hospitals, and orphanages. Shouldn't there be a mechanism to ensure proper governance? The opposition is politically bound to oppose reforms, but they must look within themselves," he added.
Prasad said that the amendments were necessary to ensure transparency and fairness in Waqf administration.
"The Waqf Bill is about regulating properties, not about targeting any community. If the bill provides more representation to backward Muslims in Waqf affairs, why is the opposition objecting? If Waqf properties are being misused or illegally occupied, the Constitution allows for corrective legislation," he said.
Prasad said the Congress has over the years only paid lip service to the cause of minorities but did nothing to empower them.
He also referenced the Shah Bano case, accusing the Congress of undermining legal reforms for political gains.
"When the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Shah Bano, the Rajiv Gandhi government overturned the decision for vote bank politics. Congress had 400 seats then but never got a majority after that. Today, they continue to oppose necessary reforms for political reasons," he said.
According to the bill, trusts created by Muslims under any law will no longer be considered Waqf, ensuring full control over them.
Only practising Muslims (for at least five years) can dedicate their property to Waqf, restoring the pre-2013 rules. Also, women must receive their inheritance before Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans, the bill proposes.
