Nasa moon mission plans set back by coronavirus crisis

Work on the Orion capsule and the Space Launch System suspended until Covid-19 outbreak has passed

Welcome to a new semi-regular column about Nasa's progress towards landing astronauts on the moon during 2024.

This challenging schedule, which was mandated by the White House, has now been made more difficult by the coronavirus outbreak. On 19 March, the Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the agency's Michoud assembly facility and Stennis Space Center are in effect shutting down due to the rising number of cases in their local areas.