NASA's Top Challenge Is Returning Humans To Moon, Report Says

Mark Carreau January 20, 2026
artemis on the launchpad

NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center.

Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock
HOUSTON—As it surges ahead with ambitious objectives and constrained budgets, NASA faces five top challenges, according to the agency's Inspector General (IG). Returning human explorers to the Moon; sustaining a human presence in low Earth orbit; improving major program management; tackling...
Mark Carreau

Mark is based in Houston, where he has written on aerospace for more than 25 years. While at the Houston Chronicle, he was recognized by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2006 for his professional contributions to the public understanding of America's space program through news reporting.

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