NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the cost and schedule performance of the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration effort even as officials hinted as the possibility for changes in one upcoming mission. At a May 23 hearing, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s commerce, justice and science subcommittee, pressed Nelson on costs associated with Artemis and suggested that the agency convene an independent review of those costs. She asked Nelson to describe “what NASA is doing to hold contractors accountable for cost overruns and scheduling delays” including whether the agency withheld payments to contractors for those overruns. She did not cite specific cases with Artemis but rather past studies on the overall costs of the pr...