NASA's February 2026 program restructure shifted the first crewed lunar landing from an earlier Artemis III target to Artemis IV no earlier than early 2028, following the successful Artemis II flyby in April 2026. Persistent delays in developing the Human Landing Systems—SpaceX's Starship variant and Blue Origin's Blue Moon—along with technical challenges in propulsion, docking, and life support have made any 2026 surface mission impossible under current schedules. Official NASA statements, inspector general reports, and congressional updates confirm the revised cadence prioritizes risk reduction through an added low-Earth orbit demonstration in late 2027. While lander progress or regulatory changes could theoretically accelerate timelines, the multi-year development gaps and hardware readiness gaps leave virtually no realistic path to a human Moon landing before 2027.