The Artemis program

The Artemis program, led by NASA, aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a permanent base there, marking the first such visits since the Apollo era. It was formally created in 2017 by Space Policy Directive-1 under President Donald Trump. The program relies on Space Shuttle–derived components, including the Space Launch System’s core stage, its RS-25 engines, and solid rocket boosters, alongside hardware from the canceled Constellation program, such as the Orion spacecraft (paired with the European Service Module) and booster upgrades originally meant for Ares V. Private companies are developing new elements, like the Human Landing System (HLS), under contract, while international partners are governed by the Artemis Accords.

The program’s missions are designed to increase in complexity, roughly one year apart. Artemis I, an uncrewed test in 2022, sent Orion to lunar orbit. Artemis II, in 2026, carried four astronauts on a lunar flyby, becoming the only crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit not part of Apollo. Artemis III, planned for late 2027, will test an HLS lunar lander in Earth orbit. Artemis IV, targeted for 2028, is intended as the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. Starting with Artemis V, scheduled for no earlier than late 2028, NASA plans yearly lunar landings to build a permanent base, as a step toward deeper space missions. Each numbered mission launches an SLS rocket with Orion; missions after Artemis II also rely on support flights from other organizations. Planners have considered sending a collection of cultural works, called the Lunar Codex, to the Moon.

The core infrastructure includes SLS, Orion, and the HLS, with additional elements like Commercial Lunar Payload Services, Exploration Ground Systems, Artemis Base Camp, a Lunar Terrain Vehicle, and spacesuit development. Some choices, such as the near-rectilinear halo orbit and long-term sustainability plans, have drawn criticism. Orion’s first SLS launch, originally set for 2016, faced repeated delays before flying on November 16, 2022, as Artemis I, carrying mannequins and robotic payloads. The crewed Artemis II flew on April 1, 2026. Future missions are planned for late 2027 (Artemis III), early 2028 (Artemis IV), and late 2028 (Artemis V), with annual landings thereafter.

Artemis I was an uncrewed test that sent Orion into a polar distant retrograde lunar orbit for about six days, then returned it to a Pacific Ocean splashdown. The mission succeeded, though Orion’s heat shield eroded more than expected. Artemis II was the first crewed test, with four astronauts performing spacecraft tests in high Earth orbit before a free-return lunar flyby and splashdown, comparable to Apollo 7 and 8 but without orbiting the Moon. Artemis III will test docking with commercial landers—SpaceX’s Starship HLS and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon—in Earth orbit, along with the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit, similar to Apollo 9. Artemis IV depends on a prior support flight to place a lander in lunar orbit; astronauts will transfer to it, conduct at least two spacewalks on the surface, and return to Orion. Artemis V will be the second landing and the start of building the Moon base.

The program incorporates components from canceled NASA projects, including Constellation and the Asteroid Redirect Mission. Constellation, legislated by the 2005 NASA Authorization Act, included Ares I and Ares V rockets and Orion. In 2009, President Barack Obama’s Augustine Committee found it underfunded and a 2020 Moon landing impossible, leading to its suspension. On April 15, 2010, Obama announced the cancellation of non-Orion Constellation elements.