WASHINGTON, Sept 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - NASA on Tuesday said it was on track to send astronauts to orbit the Moon in early 2026, as the United States races China to return to the lunar surface.

Multiple setbacks have delayed the manned mission, dubbed Artemis 2, which is now scheduled for April 2026 at the latest and could come as soon as February.

"We intend to keep that commitment," said Lakiesha Hawkins, a top NASA official, at a press briefing Tuesday.

Three US astronauts and one Canadian comprise the crew, which is expected to be the first to orbit the Moon in more than half a century.

But the mission will not land there -- achieving that goal is the aim of Artemis 3.

The US space agency's Artemis program hopes to return humans to the Moon as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.

US President Donald Trump's second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress.

The Republican leader, who announced the Artemis program during his first term, wants the US space agency to return to the Moon as soon as possible and also voyage to Mars.

Both efforts plan to eventually establish bases on the Moon.

The Trump administration has referred to a "second space race," following the 20th-century Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.

"There is a desire for us to return to the surface of the moon and to be the first to return to the surface of the moon," Hawkins said, before emphasizing that "NASA's objective" is "to do so safely."