Education department rescinds Title IX resolution agreements

Britain has shelved plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after strong opposition from US President Donald Trump who has previously described the move "an act of great stupidity".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street office said the deal would proceed only "if it has US support", after reports the Chagos legislation risked running out of parliamentary time with no fresh bill planned.

The remote Indian Ocean archipelago -- whose main island is Diego Garcia -- was bought by Britain in 1965 before Mauritius gained independence. Following the purchase, the local population was expelled and Britain leased the territory to the United States for what became one of its most strategic military bases. 

Britain's ownership was disputed for years, with the United Nations ruling in 2019 that the UK should hand back the roughly 55 islands and atolls.

- Mass eviction -

In 1965, Britain separated the Chagos Islands from the rest of Mauritius, then a semi-autonomous British territory, and paid three million pounds to acquire them, the equivalent of around $65 million today.

When Mauritius became independent three years later, the islands remained under British control and were renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

In 1966, Britain leased the islands to the US for 50 years so that it could set up a military base. In 2016, the deal was extended to 2036.

Between 1968 and 1973, around 2,000 Chagos islanders were evicted, described in a British diplomatic cable at the time as the removal of a few "Tarzans and Man Fridays". Most were shipped to Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Mauritius argued it was illegal for Britain to break up its territory and demanded the right to resettle the former residents.

- Strategic military base -

The US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island, took a major strategic role in the Cold War.

It offered proximity to Asia as an assertive Soviet navy was extending communist influence in the Indian Ocean.

After the 1979 revolution that swept Iran, the US expanded the base to receive more warships and heavy bombers.

It later served as a staging ground for US bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was used recently to launch B-2 bomber attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen during the Gaza war.

- Islands returned -

Britain signed a deal with Mauritius in May 2025 to return the islands, while paying to lease Diego Garcia for $136 million annually for 99 years, which London said would secure the use of the military base. 

It follows decades of legal wrangling dating back to 1975 when Chagos islanders living in Mauritius launched legal proceedings against their expulsion, resulting in a 1982 payment of four million pounds in compensation along with land valued at one million pounds.

In 2007, a British appeals court paved the way for Chagossians to return home but its decision was annulled by the upper branch of parliament, the House of Lords, the following year.

In 2016, the British government confirmed its opposition to the resettlement of Chagossians, including for reasons of defence, security and cost.

Today, around 10,000 Chagossians and their descendants are divided between Mauritius, the Seychelles and Britain.

- ICJ ruling -

In 2010, Britain declared the islands part of a Marine Protected Area, arguing that people should not be permitted to live there.

Diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks quoted a British official as saying the plan "put paid to the resettlement claims of the archipelago's former residents".

The move backfired as a UN arbitration tribunal declared it illegal in 2015. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated in 2019 that Britain had illegally split the islands and should relinquish control.

Britain rejected the ruling, insisting that Mauritius was wrong to bring the case to court, and arguing the Diego Garcia base played a "vital role" in keeping the region safe.

Later that year, a UN General Assembly resolution demanded Britain cede the islands.

- Colonial history -

Located several hundred kilometres south of the Maldives, the Chagos Islands were colonised by France in the 18th century and African slaves were shipped in to cultivate coconuts and copra.

In 1814, France was made to cede the islands to Britain, which in 1903 merged them with Mauritius, its colony around 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) to the southwest.

After the abolition of slavery in 1834, Indian workers arrived and mixed with the first settlers.

Only three of the islands were inhabited: Diego Garcia, Salomon and Peros Banhos.

bur-er-mnk/rmb

Britain indicated Saturday it would shelve plans to hand back the Chagos Islands -- which hosts a strategic US-UK military base -- after US President Donald Trump strongly criticised the deal.

A former top government official said the government had been effectively forced to abandon the plan as a result of Trump's opposition.

"When the president of the United States is openly hostile, the government has to rethink, so this agreement... will go into the deep freeze for the time being," Simon McDonald, previously the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, told BBC radio.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Downing Street office said in a statement: "We have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has US support."

Starmer's office issued the statement in response to reports that legislation underpinning the deal to return the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius was due to run out of time in parliament and that no new Chagos bill would be brought forward.

Trump in January lashed out at what he called London's "great stupidity" over the deal.

Last May's Chagos agreement would have seen Britain hand the islands -- some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) northeast of Mauritius -- to its former colony and pay to lease Diego Garcia, the largest island, which is home to the military base, for a century.

- 'Deeply frustrating' -

The UK had still not received a formal exchange of notes from Washington –- a technical step but a legal necessity for the treaty to be enacted, the PA news agency reported.

Time had consequently run out to pass the legislation before parliament was dissolved in the coming weeks, it said, quoting a government source as saying the situation was "deeply frustrating".

Main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the agreement should now find its "rightful place – on the ash heap of history”.

“That it took so long is another damning indictment of a Prime Minister who fought to hand over British sovereign territory and pay £35 billion to use a crucial military base which was already ours,” she said.

Downing Street said the government would continue to "engage with the US and Mauritius".

"Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US. Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority -- it is the entire reason for the deal," the Downing Street spokesperson added.

Trump had endorsed the deal after it was signed but then launched a scathing attack on it in Truth Social comments in January.

"The United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia... for no reason whatsover," he said.

"There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness," he said, adding that it showed why the US needed to conquer Greenland from ally Denmark.

Diego Garcia was one of two bases which the UK allowed the US to use for what the British government insisted were "defensive operations" in its war against Iran.

- 99-year lease -

Starmer has previously insisted that international legal rulings have put Britain's ownership of the Chagos in doubt and only a deal with Mauritius would guarantee that the base remains functional.

Britain kept control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s.

It evicted thousands of Chagos islanders who have since mounted a series of legal claims for compensation in British courts.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice recommended that Britain hand the archipelago to Mauritius.

The deal would have given Britain a 99-year lease of the base, with the option to extend.

The UK government has not said how much the lease would cost but has not denied reports it would be £90 million ($111 million) a year.

har/gv

In a first for Europe, the Netherlands is poised to allow Tesla owners to use their car's self-driving feature -- as long as they are in the vehicle and keeping a watchful eye over it.

The country's RDW agency for roadworthiness certifications said in a statement late Friday: "Thanks to the type approval, the driver assistance system can now be used in the Netherlands, with possible future expansion to all member states of the European Union."

The move aligns the Netherlands with what is allowed in the United States, where Tesla owners can already use the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) (FSD Supervised) function in the cars.

That mode hands over driving to the Tesla's computer system, including steering, braking, route navigation and parking, all under the active supervision of the driver, who remains at the controls ready to take over if needed.

The European subsidiary of Tesla, the electric-vehicle company run by the world's richest person, Elon Musk, hailed the Netherlands' move.

"FSD Supervised has been approved in the Netherlands & will begin rolling out in the country shortly!" it said on X. 

"No other vehicle can do this. We're excited to bring FSD Supervised to more European countries soon."

The Dutch RDW agency stressed the difference between FSD Supervised, with a human remaining at the controls, and full autonomous driving.

"A vehicle with FSD Supervised is not self-driving. It is a driver assistance system, and the driver remains responsible and must always maintain control," it said.

RDW's decision has to go to the European Commission for authorisation, so that its national certification has EU weight. 

Tesla sales have been facing headwinds in Europe -- including in the Netherlands -- in the last couple of years. 

Potential clients have turned off by Musk's political activism supporting hard-right politics in the US and Germany, while the brand is also facing increased competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.

fpo/yk/rmb/pdw

Some three-quarters of the airstrikes during the Middle East war targeted sites in Iran or Lebanon, according to an AFP analysis of data from ACLED, a non‑profit that tracks political violence worldwide. 

At least 7,700 strikes or series of strikes by missiles, drones, rockets or bombs, were recorded by the US-based conflict research group between the start of the war on February 28 up to April 8, when a fragile ceasefire concluded between Tehran and Washington came into effect.

ACLED collected and vetted its data from sources that it considers reliable, such as news reports, social networks, institutions, and other NGOs. 

This count, which includes attacks that were intercepted, cannot be considered an exhaustive list from the conflict.

- Iran - 

Approximately four out of 10 recorded attacks targeted Iran, mostly attributed to the Israeli military,  According to AFP's analysis, in only a third of the cases could the target be identified as military or linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the regime's ideological army. 

A third of the attacks had no identified target. April 6 and 7 -- the two days preceding the ceasefire -- saw the highest number of strikes.

- Lebanon - 

Lebanon, where Israel has been conducting a campaign triggered by the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah on March 2 launching an offensive, accounted for a third of the attacks, according to ACLED data as of April 3. 

The vast majority were carried out by Israeli forces, while nearly 10 percent were Hezbollah attacks against Israeli positions in the south of Lebanon. 

Israel asserts the two-week ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran does not apply to Lebanon and it has continued to bombard the country. 

- Israel -

One in seven attacks targeted Israel, most of which were intercepted. The attacks were in almost equal proportions from Iran and Hezbollah.

- Other countries -

The main countries targeted by Iran were Gulf states, primarily the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.  In Iraq, 40 percent of the attacks were against Kurdish groups and 20 percent against US interests. 

Qatar and Oman were targeted to a lesser extent. 

In Syria, ACLED recorded approximately one hundred incidents, but these were mainly the result of Iranian missiles and drones being intercepted by Israel. Several dozen similar incidents were recorded in the West Bank and Jordan. 

In Turkey, four missile launches were intercepted by NATO to protect its Incirlik airbase, where US troops are stationed.

- Most common targets -

Israel targeted 15 bridges or their approaches in Lebanon and around 20 in Iran. 

Attacks against energy infrastructure in Iran were most intense during the second and third weeks of the conflict, as well as during the week of the ceasefire announcement. 

Iran's key petrochemical complex at Assalouyeh, already targeted in mid-March, was struck again on April 6 by Israel. Numerous Iranian fuel depots were also hit.

ACLED reported four strikes near Iran's only nuclear power plant, in Bushehr.  

Among the Gulf oil monarchies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the countries whose oil infrastructure was most frequently attacked, followed by Kuwait. 

Across all countries, strikes against energy infrastructure resulted in damage in approximately 40 percent of cases, according to AFP's analysis. 

Military bases housing US personnel were targeted around 50 times in total, primarily during the first two weeks of the conflict. 

dvz-lc-shu-ot-paj/gv/rmb

Britain is shelving its plan to hand back the Chagos Islands -- which hosts the strategic Diego Garcia US-UK military base -- according to a government spokesperson Saturday, following strong opposition from US President Donald Trump.

"We have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has US support" the spokesman said in a statement, as reports said legislation to return the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius was due to run out of time in parliament.

Trump in January lashed out at what he called London's "great stupidity" over the deal.

Last May's Chagos agreement would have seen Britain hand the archipelago -- some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) northeast of Mauritius -- to its former colony and pay to lease Diego Garcia, the largest island, which is home to the military base, for a century.

"Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US. Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority – it is the entire reason for the deal," the Downing Street spokesperson added.

“We are continuing to engage with the US and Mauritius."

Trump had endorsed the deal after it was signed but then launched a scathing attack on it in Truth Social comments in January.

"The United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia... for no reason whatsover," he said.

"There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness," he said, adding that it showed why the US needed to conquer Greenland from ally Denmark.

Diego Garcia was one of two bases which the UK allowed the US to use for what the British government insisted were "defensive operations" in its war against Iran.

- 99-year lease -

Starmer has previously insisted that international legal rulings have put Britain's ownership of the Chagos in doubt and only a deal with Mauritius would guarantee that the base remains functional.

Government officials cited by the BBC said the agreement was not being entirely abandoned.

But they said the legislation underpinning it would not pass before parliament is dissolved in coming weeks and a new Chagos bill is not expected to be put forward.

Britain kept control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s.

It evicted thousands of Chagos islanders who have since mounted a series of legal claims for compensation in British courts.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice recommended that Britain hand the archipelago to Mauritius.

The deal would have given Britain a 99-year lease of the base, with the option to extend.

The UK government has not said how much the lease would cost but has failed to deny that it would be £90 million ($111 million) a year.

har/gv

Somalia president Hassan Mohamud congratulated football referee Omar Artan who has made history as the first Somalian to be selected to officiate at the World Cup finals.

Artan, 34, was among the 52 referees announced by FIFA to officiate at the June-July finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

President Mohamud said Artan had raised Somalia's reputation on the international stage.

"I commend the effort, professionalism, and integrity shown by referee Omar, as he has become a symbol of inspiration for the new generation of Somalis," said Mohamud.

It is not the first time that Artan has been a groundbreaker in a nation that has never qualified for an international football tournament.

Artan has been officiating in the Somali national football league championships since he became a FIFA referee in 2018.

He made his mark as the first Somalia-born referee to officiate in an African Football Confederation (CAF) Champions League game between Mamelodi Sundowns and Pyramids FC in Cairo in January 2025.

He has also officiated at the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Algeria, and in 2025 he was named by CAF as the best men's referee of year.

However, he played no part in the AFCON finals in Morocco earlier this year despite being picked as a tournament referee.

Somalia can still dream of reaching the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, after they beat Mauritius 4-2 on penalties in March to qualify for the group stage for the first time.

The finals will be co-hosted for the first time by the three east African nations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

aik/pi/ea

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Islamabad on Saturday for talks with Iran that the Pakistani premier hosting the warring sides called a "make or break" effort to permanently halt weeks of fighting in the Middle East.

An Iranian delegation led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived overnight at an airbase near the capital, disembarking from the commercial plane to embrace Pakistan's powerful army chief Asim Munir, who also shares a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump. 

Munir also greeted Vance, escorting him down a red carpet at the Nur Khan air base, where US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were already waiting.

The foes still appeared to be far apart on key issues, including the opening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and were quick to express their mutual suspicion.

"We have good intentions but we do not trust," Ghalibaf said shortly after landing, according to Iran's state broadcaster. 

"Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises."

Vance, who has been dispatched by Trump to lead the US delegation, stopped briefly in Paris for his plane to refuel before flying on to Pakistan.

"If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand," Vance said before leaving the United States.

But "if they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive", he added.

The ceasefire is already under strain, notably from Israel's continued strikes in Lebanon, where on Wednesday it carried out its heaviest bombardment since Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in early March, killing hundreds of people less than 48 hours after the truce came into force.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country's down-to-the-wire mediation got both sides to the negotiating table this week, said talks would not be easy. 

"An even more difficult stage lies ahead," he said, referring to efforts to permanently end fighting that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking Iranian retaliation against Israel and across the Gulf.

"This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of 'make or break.'"

It was unclear what time the talks would get underway, though the Tasnim news agency reported Iran's delegation would meet with Sharif at 1:00 pm.

Iranian state television made only a brief mention of the talks in its first morning news programme, with its second report dedicated to volunteers signing up to defend Iran in the event the war resumed.

- Islamabad plays host -

Iran -- which brought a more than 70-member delegation to Pakistan --  has insisted on the truce covering Lebanon and on the unfreezing of its assets for the Islamabad talks to go ahead, neither of which has materialised so far.

On the US side, President Donald Trump demanded the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for the two-week ceasefire.

The strait, through which one-fifth of the world's crude passes, has not reopened to normal traffic, however, and Trump vowed on Friday to have it open soon "with or without" Iran's cooperation.

He added his top priority at the Islamabad talks was to ensure the Islamic republic had "no nuclear weapon. That's 99 percent of it."

Security was tight in the Pakistani capital on Saturday, with a heavy police and paramilitary presence on the streets and road diversions around the "red zone" where government and diplomatic buildings are located. 

The city's main luxury hotel, which could host delegations, has been cleared of its normal well-heeled clientele.

It was not known whether the two sides would meet face-to-face, or whether they would mirror an indirect format used in Oman-mediated talks before the war. 

Pakistan has formulated a team of subject matter specialists to facilitate the two sides in negotiations on navigation, nuclear and other key matters, a diplomatic source familiar with the matter told AFP.

The negotiations will be closely watched by other key regional players, with Egypt and Turkey having helped with mediation, along with China, all of which Pakistan was still coordinating closely with for the talks, the source said. 

Beijing has been sought as a possible guarantor of any lasting agreement, official sources have said, with Trump confirming to AFP that China helped get Tehran to the negotiating table.

It was not clear whether China would have any direct presence during the talks or would be willing to take on a formal role. 

- Violence in Lebanon -

Complicating the path to a permanent ceasefire was Israel's assertion that the current truce does not cover Lebanon, at odds with Iran and Pakistan's stance.

Israeli air strikes continued in Lebanon on Friday against Iran-backed Hezbollah despite the Iranian demand that they be halted as a condition of the truce with Washington.

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said his country will hold discussions with Lebanon's government in Washington next week but would not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The militant group said overnight that it had carried out drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, as well as on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

In Tehran, a 30-year-old resident told AFP he was skeptical negotiations would be successful, describing most of what Trump says as "pure noise and nonsense."

burs/cl/mlm/ceg/smw

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Islamabad on Saturday for talks with Iran that the Pakistani premier hosting the warring sides called a "make or break" effort to permanently halt weeks of fighting in the Middle East.

An Iranian delegation led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived overnight at an airbase near the capital, disembarking from the commercial plane to embrace Pakistan's powerful army chief Asim Munir, who also shares a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump. 

Munir also greeted Vance, escorting him down a red carpet at the Nur Khan air base, where US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were already waiting.

The foes still appeared to be far apart on key issues, including the opening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and were quick to express their mutual suspicion.

"We have good intentions but we do not trust," Ghalibaf said shortly after landing, according to Iran's state broadcaster. 

"Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises."

Vance, who has been dispatched by Trump to lead the US delegation, stopped briefly in Paris for his plane to refuel before flying on to Pakistan.

"If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand," Vance said before leaving the United States.

But "if they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive", he added.

The ceasefire is already under strain, notably from Israel's continued strikes in Lebanon, where on Wednesday it carried out its heaviest bombardment since Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in early March, killing hundreds of people less than 48 hours after the truce came into force.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country's down-to-the-wire mediation got both sides to the negotiating table this week, said talks would not be easy. 

"An even more difficult stage lies ahead," he said, referring to efforts to permanently end fighting that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking Iranian retaliation against Israel and across the Gulf.

"This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of 'make or break.'"

It was unclear what time the talks would get underway, though the Tasnim news agency reported Iran's delegation would meet with Sharif at 1:00 pm.

Iranian state television made only a brief mention of the talks in its first morning news programme, with its second report dedicated to volunteers signing up to defend Iran in the event the war resumed.

- Islamabad plays host -

Iran -- which brought a more than 70-member delegation to Pakistan --  has insisted on the truce covering Lebanon and on the unfreezing of its assets for the Islamabad talks to go ahead, neither of which has materialised so far.

On the US side, President Donald Trump demanded the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for the two-week ceasefire.

The strait, through which one-fifth of the world's crude passes, has not reopened to normal traffic, however, and Trump vowed on Friday to have it open soon "with or without" Iran's cooperation.

He added his top priority at the Islamabad talks was to ensure the Islamic republic had "no nuclear weapon. That's 99 percent of it."

Security was tight in the Pakistani capital on Saturday, with a heavy police and paramilitary presence on the streets and road diversions around the "red zone" where government and diplomatic buildings are located. 

The city's main luxury hotel, which could host delegations, has been cleared of its normal well-heeled clientele.

It was not known whether the two sides would meet face-to-face, or whether they would mirror an indirect format used in Oman-mediated talks before the war. 

Pakistan has formulated a team of subject matter specialists to facilitate the two sides in negotiations on navigation, nuclear and other key matters, a diplomatic source familiar with the matter told AFP.

The negotiations will be closely watched by other key regional players, with Egypt and Turkey having helped with mediation, along with China, all of which Pakistan was still coordinating closely with for the talks, the source said. 

Beijing has been sought as a possible guarantor of any lasting agreement, official sources have said, with Trump confirming to AFP that China helped get Tehran to the negotiating table.

It was not clear whether China would have any direct presence during the talks or would be willing to take on a formal role. 

- Violence in Lebanon -

Complicating the path to a permanent ceasefire was Israel's assertion that the current truce does not cover Lebanon, at odds with Iran and Pakistan's stance.

Israeli air strikes continued in Lebanon on Friday against Iran-backed Hezbollah despite the Iranian demand that they be halted as a condition of the truce with Washington.

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said his country will hold discussions with Lebanon's government in Washington next week but would not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The militant group said overnight that it had carried out drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, as well as on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

In Tehran, a 30-year-old resident told AFP he was skeptical negotiations would be successful, describing most of what Trump says as "pure noise and nonsense."

burs/cl/mlm/ceg/smw

How blue really is Blue Curacao, the sapphire-colored liqueur used to make Blue Lagoon or Blue Hawaii cocktails?

Not blue at all is the answer.

The brilliant hue of the drink is synthetic, added to evoke the tint of the Caribbean waters surrounding the eponymous Dutch island, the smallest country to qualify for this year's World Cup.

Curacao, which is flavored with orange peel, has been manufactured in the nation of 185,000 inhabitants for more than a century.

"Most people know it as Blue Curacao but the original Curacao liqueur was never blue to start with. It is clear," Genesis Riley, a 39-year-old guide at the Senior distillery told AFP.

"But we do have a blue version that inspires the rest of the world," she added.

The drink gained worldwide renown in the 1960s after featuring in the romantic comedy Blue Hawaii, starring singer Elvis Presley as an ex-soldier trying to dodge being drafted into the family pineapple business.

Because Curacao is the name of a territory, Senior cannot patent the liqueur, which is produced around the world.

Initially more popular in Europe, Blue Curacao has also been adopted in the Caribbean, Riley said.

Senior also produces colorless, red, green and yellow curacao but the thirst for these is dwarfed by demand for the blue variety.

pgf/cb/mjf/sla/hol

With Artemis II successfully completing its historic lunar mission on Friday, NASA is banking on billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for the next step: landing astronauts on the Moon.

The Apollo program -- which sent the first and only humans to the Moon's surface between 1969 and 1972 -- was designed so that only two astronauts could land on the lunar surface for a maximum of a few days.

More than 50 years later, American ambitions and expertise have grown, with NASA hoping to send four people on a mission lasting several weeks and eventually building a lunar base.

For the second phase of its mission, the space agency is looking to commercial landers designed by Musk's SpaceX and Bezos's Blue Origin to get its astronauts on the Moon.

After Artemis II splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday after its record-breaking journey, NASA officials urged all hands on deck for a crewed landing in 2028.

"We need all of industry to work and come along with us, and they need to accept that challenge and come with us and really start the production lines that are going to be required in order to achieve that goal," Lori Glaze, the acting associate NASA administrator, told a press conference.

The Apollo program relied on a single rocket, the Saturn V, which carried both the lunar lander and the capsule carrying the astronauts.

NASA has opted for two separate systems for Artemis: the first to launch the Orion spacecraft carrying the crew from Earth, and another to launch the lunar lander, which will be privately contracted.

- 'Camping trip' -

The decision was driven by the technical limitations of the Apollo program, Kent Chojnacki, a senior NASA official in charge of lunar lander development, told AFP.

"It was very not expandable to long-term exploration and long-term stays," he explained.

Although spectacular, the Apollo missions were like "camping trips," said Jack Kiraly, director of government relations at the Planetary Society, which encourages space exploration.

The systems NASA is looking at now are "huge compared to Apollo," said Chojnacki, noting that the new lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX are two to seven times larger than before.

The space agency is also drawing from external partners, such as the European companies that built the propulsion module for Orion.

The new approach opens access to more equipment and resources, but also significantly complicates operations.

To send these giant spacecrafts to the Moon, the private space exploration companies will need to master in-flight refueling, a complex maneuver that has not yet been fully tested.

After the lunar lander is launched, additional rockets will be needed to deliver the fuel required for the journey to the Moon, some 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth.

- 'Lose the Moon' -

Given this risky undertaking and the numerous delays -- particularly those experienced by SpaceX that was supposed to have its lander ready first -- pressure has mounted in recent months.

"We are once again about to lose the Moon," three former NASA officials warned in an article in SpaceNews last September.

China, which is hoping to send humans to the Moon by 2030, has been making progress as well, raising fears in the Trump administration that the United States could get left behind.

With that in mind, NASA raised the possibility last fall of reopening the contract awarded to SpaceX and using Blue Origin's lunar lander first, sending shockwaves through the rival companies.

Both firms announced they were realigning their strategies to prioritize the lunar project -- and keep their lucrative contracts with NASA.

But concerns remain, particularly regarding the feasibility of in-orbit refueling.

"We do have a plan," Chojnacki said, noting that NASA has a back-up plan in case of failure.

The timeline is also up in the air. 

NASA says it plans to test an in-orbit rendezvous between the spacecraft and one or two lunar landers in 2027, and carry out a crewed lunar landing in 2028.

Before that, companies will need to test in-orbit refueling and send an unmanned lunar lander to the Moon to demonstrate its safety.

That all needs to happen within the next two years.

"It feels like a very small amount of time," said Clayton Swope of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

cha/ico/eml/aks/hol