The space race is back on, and if you think it’s for Mars, think again.

NASA, along with other space agencies around the world, are back to racing for the first and best permanent base on the Moon.

They believe it will be essential for launching ourselves further into space, but also for mining and other exploration plans on the Moon itself.

But NASA has been forced to admit they’re running into significant issues with their moon launcher design.

Their Space Launch System, or SLS, is a rocket designed to launch the Orion capsule to the Moon. NASA says it will need a separate launch tower to move forward with Artemis IV.

Dubbed Mobile Launcher 2, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this will come with a significant price tag – somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.8 billion, to be exact.

The mission is planned for September 2028, and will kickstart NASA’s Lunar Gateway space station’s construction. Basically, they’ve got too much stuff to get up there and need a stronger launcher to make it happen.

The rocket is behind schedule as well, and the OIG described an “array of issues” in another recent report. 

NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) thinks they may have even underestimated the cost by quite a bit – more like $2.7 billion.

Lord help us, the new cost estimate of NASA’s Mobile Launcher-2 project is now a mind-boggling $2.7 billion.https://t.co/KE7WZEtcQ5

— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) August 27, 2024

The project has already suffered years of delays and this isn’t the first time the estimated budget has been off, either. Costs are so wildly unpredictable that some lawmakers are balking at continuing with the Artemis program at all.

And money isn’t the only issue; even if they get the new launcher built, it might not be able to support a launch until spring of 2029.

Costs going up faster than the tower.

— Scott Manley (@DJSnM) June 8, 2022

The OIG says that NASA disagrees with these estimates that both costs and the issues encountered will lessen over time.

Oversight committees definitely disagree, meaning the future of the project could be in danger.

NASA is going to have to answer some hard questions, including why Congress shouldn’t take using SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft instead.

Between the delays, the money issues, and the fact that the competition is waiting in the wings for the go-ahead, NASA has some tough questions to answer in the coming days.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.