US Lawmakers Slam NASA's Artemis Plan, Saying It "Cannot Work"
A subcommittee of the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology has expressed concerns about China's growing presence in space and urged NASA to re-examine its ambitious plan for returning humans to the Moon. The committee members questioned how NASA can maintain its global leadership in space over China, which is expected to land humans on the Moon before the US.
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, a longtime critic of the agency's approach, stated that the current plan relies on technology that has not been proven in space and will likely fail. He suggested canceling the Artemis III mission and future plans and starting anew with a more sustainable architecture. Griffin's advice is similar to his "Apollo on Steroids" proposal from two decades ago, which was later deemed unaffordable.
The criticism comes as NASA has faced numerous delays and budget overruns in its major exploration programs, including the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. The agency has also struggled with cost-plus contracts that limit its ability to enforce deadlines with contractors.
Lawmakers are now calling for greater accountability from NASA and its contractors, suggesting that failing to meet objectives should come with consequences, including budgetary and legal repercussions.
While some experts emphasized the importance of continued investment in space research and development, others cautioned that the agency needs to adopt a more disciplined approach to ensure success. One witness, Dean Cheng of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, noted that policymakers must prioritize NASA's objectives and hold themselves and contractors accountable for meeting those goals.
As China continues to advance its space program, US lawmakers are urging NASA to reassess its strategy and take bold action to regain its leadership in space exploration. With the Artemis Program facing mounting criticism, it remains to be seen whether the agency will heed these warnings and adopt a more sustainable approach or risk being overtaken by its rival nation.
A subcommittee of the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology has expressed concerns about China's growing presence in space and urged NASA to re-examine its ambitious plan for returning humans to the Moon. The committee members questioned how NASA can maintain its global leadership in space over China, which is expected to land humans on the Moon before the US.
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, a longtime critic of the agency's approach, stated that the current plan relies on technology that has not been proven in space and will likely fail. He suggested canceling the Artemis III mission and future plans and starting anew with a more sustainable architecture. Griffin's advice is similar to his "Apollo on Steroids" proposal from two decades ago, which was later deemed unaffordable.
The criticism comes as NASA has faced numerous delays and budget overruns in its major exploration programs, including the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. The agency has also struggled with cost-plus contracts that limit its ability to enforce deadlines with contractors.
Lawmakers are now calling for greater accountability from NASA and its contractors, suggesting that failing to meet objectives should come with consequences, including budgetary and legal repercussions.
While some experts emphasized the importance of continued investment in space research and development, others cautioned that the agency needs to adopt a more disciplined approach to ensure success. One witness, Dean Cheng of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, noted that policymakers must prioritize NASA's objectives and hold themselves and contractors accountable for meeting those goals.
As China continues to advance its space program, US lawmakers are urging NASA to reassess its strategy and take bold action to regain its leadership in space exploration. With the Artemis Program facing mounting criticism, it remains to be seen whether the agency will heed these warnings and adopt a more sustainable approach or risk being overtaken by its rival nation.
Did you see that NASA is getting slammed by US lawmakers over its Artemis Plan? I mean, can you blame them though? The numbers are pretty rough - they're like 1 in 5 for the Orion spacecraft's testing success rate 
. And let's not forget about those cost-plus contracts, which basically give contractors a free pass to go over budget 
. If China is gonna beat us to the Moon, we need to step up our game and get some real accountability in place 
. I'm all for innovation, but "Apollo on Steroids" might be more like "Apollo on Credit Cards" 
. We can't just keep throwing money at a problem without making sure we're getting results 
. 75% of NASA's budget goes towards research and development, but only 25% is allocated to actual mission execution 
. Something's gotta change ASAP 
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like literally who doesnt know china is gonna be the 1st to land humans on the moon before us? 
dean cheng is right tho, policymakers gotta step up and hold themselves accountable 
otherwise china is gonna leave us in the dust 
), I can already imagine the chaos that could unfold if NASA doesn't get their act together! With all these delays, budget overruns, and cost-plus contracts, it's like they're playing a game of cosmic Jenga – one wrong move and everything comes crashing down 
? No, no, no – NASA needs to get their priorities straight and start planning for success, stat! 
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. The thing is, we can't just give up on our space dreams just 'cause it's hard 
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. It's not like he's some crazy conspiracy theorist or anything 
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. Maybe it'll push NASA to take a hard look at their plans and come up with something that actually works 
. Who knows, maybe they'll even learn from China's moves and figure out how to get ahead of them 
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. Let's keep supporting our space program and giving 'em the resources they need to make it happen 
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It's time to stop making excuses and start making progress! 
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. I think it's essential for policymakers to prioritize a more disciplined approach, ensuring that NASA adopts sustainable architecture and holds itself accountable for meeting objectives 
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. We can't just give up on Artemis now! They're trying to achieve something historic here and those delays, budget overruns... well, we've all seen those happen with other projects too 
. China's gonna come for us if we don't keep pushing the boundaries of space tech 
. Can't let them get ahead of us without even having a basic lunar base 
if they wanna catch up with China in space 
. They need to rethink their strategy, not just slap some band-aids on the existing mess 
. Can't have NASA dragging its feet for another decade, that's just embarrassing 
china's actually kinda inspirin us to step up our game 
and from what i've seen, nasa's been havin some major delays and budget issues... cant they just get it together? 
those lawmakers are on point tho, china is literally catching up fast 
they gotta step up their game if wanna stay in the lead 
China's been gaining some ground in space exploration and it's not cool for them to take NASA's crown without a fight... or at least give 'em a good reason why they can't compete 
They've been working on this project for ages and yet they still can't seem to get it together. And now they want us to believe that just because some lawmakers are having second thoughts, the entire plan needs to be scrapped?