The Artemis Program: NASA's Plan to Return Humans to the Moon

The Artemis program is NASA's flagship human spaceflight initiative — a multi-mission campaign to establish sustainable human presence on and around the Moon. Named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, Artemis aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Mission Architecture

• SLS (Space Launch System): NASA's super-heavy lift rocket. Block 1 can deliver 27 metric tons to trans-lunar injection. The most powerful rocket to fly since Saturn V
• Orion: Crew capsule built by Lockheed Martin, with ESA providing the European Service Module. Carries 4 astronauts
• HLS (Human Landing System): SpaceX Starship selected for Artemis III and IV. Blue Origin's Blue Moon selected for Artemis V
• Gateway: Small space station in lunar orbit. Modules from NASA, ESA, JAXA, and CSA. Enables sustained lunar surface access

Mission Timeline

• Artemis I (Nov 2022): Completed. Uncrewed Orion flight around the Moon — 25.5 day mission testing all systems
• Artemis II (2025-2026): First crewed Orion flight. 4 astronauts will fly around the Moon without landing — first humans beyond LEO since 1972
• Artemis III (2026-2027): First lunar landing since Apollo 17. 2 astronauts descend to the surface near the lunar south pole using SpaceX Starship HLS
• Artemis IV+: Gateway assembly begins. Regular surface missions with increasing duration and capability

Industry Impact

Artemis involves over 1,100 companies across all 50 US states, plus international partners from 61 nations through the Artemis Accords. The program is driving development in areas including lunar rovers, surface habitats, ISRU (in-situ resource utilization), and cislunar communications infrastructure.

Track Artemis missions at SpaceNexus Mission Control.