Safety comes 1st for Artemis moon missions despite ‘space race’ with China, NASA chief says

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson testifies before the Senate Appropriations' Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies subcommittee during a fiscal year 2025 budget hearing, Thursday, May 23, 2024, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. A U.S. Senate committee heard from the head of NASA what the nature of a developmental mission means: sometimes, you need to wait. NASA administrator Bill Nelson, while mindful of what he calls a “space race” with China to establish a sustained presence on the moon, said Thursday (May 23) he will only commit to the current Artemis 2 liftoff date of September 2025 if…