The Artemis program is a human spaceflight program by the United States. The Artemis program is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972; mid-term objectives include establishing an international expedition team, and a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Long-term objectives for Artemis are laying the foundations for the extraction of lunar resources, and eventually making crewed missions to Mars and beyond feasible.
To date, missions in the program are aimed at exploration of the Moon, including crewed and robotic exploration of the lunar surface. These explorations will be more focused toward areas such as the lunar poles and the far side of the moon. Five flights of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle are planned for launch in the Artemis program in the 2020s, with two having already taken place namely Artemis I and II. Before Artemis was named, the flights were referred to as "Orion missions". Numerous supporting scientific and technology demonstration missions are planned for launch under the program's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).
Missions
Mission and patch Launch (UTC) Crew Lander Duration Outcome Artemis I November 16, 202206:47:44 25 days Maiden flight of the SLS, formerly "Exploration Mission 1" (EM1), carrying an uncrewed Orion capsule and ten CubeSats selected through several programs. The payloads were sent on a trans-lunar injection trajectory. Artemis II April 1, 202622:35:12 9 days First crewed flight, carrying four crew members on a circumlunar free-return trajectory. Artemis III Late 2027 Blue Moon and/or Starship ≈14 days Crewed tests with Blue Moon and/or Starship prototypes in low Earth orbit. Artemis IV Early 2028 Blue Moon or Starship HLS ≈30 days First lunar landing of the Artemis program. Artemis V Late 2028 Blue Moon or Starship HLS ≈30 days Second Artemis crewed lunar landing. Expected to see first efforts to begin building a permanent Moon base.
Support missions Technology demonstrations
Launched on June 28, 2022,Dodson, Gerelle (June 28, 2022), "CAPSTONE Launches to Test New Orbit for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions", NASA RELEASE 22-067. Retrieved June 21, 2022. the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment ("CAPSTONE") mission is a small (25 kg) technology-demonstration spacecraft designed to test a low-energy trans-lunar trajectories and to demonstrate the near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) intended to support lunar polar missions.Hall, Laura (Apr. 29, 2022). "What is CAPSTONE", NASA. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
Surface missions The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program will support the Artemis program by landing several small payloads focused on scouting for lunar resources, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) experiments, and lunar science, in preparation for an extended human presence on the lunar surface.NASA taps 3 companies for commercial moon missions William Harwood CBS News May 31, 2019NASA awards contracts to three companies to land payloads on the moon Jeff Foust SpaceNews May 31, 2019
+ List of CLPS missions Mission Launch date Operator Lander Secondary spacecraft Launch pad Launch vehicle Duration References Peregrine Mission One Astrobotic Peregrine IrisColmena x 5 Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 Vulcan Centaur The lander carried multiple payloads, with a total payload mass capacity of 90 kg. However, the spacecraft was unable to reach the moon because of a propellant leak. It burned up over the Pacific Ocean on January 18. IM-1 Intuitive Machines Nova-C Eaglecam Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon 9 The lander carried six NASA-sponsored instruments, as well as six payloads from other customers, including EagleCAM. . The Odysseus lander successfully touched down at Malapert A near the lunar south pole on February 22, 2024. The mission ended after 7 days with the onset of lunar night, after which no further signals from the spacecraft were received. Blue Ghost M1 Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon 9 The Blue Ghost lander launched on on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and successfully landed in the Mare Crisium on , thus becoming only the second commercial mission to achieve a successful moon landing. IM-2 Intuitive Machines Nova-C Micro-Nova GracieAstroAntMAPP LV1Yaoki Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon 9 The mission successfully launched on on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and landed at lunar south pole in Mons Mouton on March 6, 2025. However, the lander tipped after touchdown, preventing any meaningful scientific experiments from being performed. On March 13, Intuitive Machines shared that, like on the IM-1 mission, the Athena's altimeter had failed during landing, leaving its onboard computer without an accurate altitude reading. As a result, the spacecraft struck a plateau, tipped over, and skidded across the lunar surface, rolling once or twice before settling inside the crater. The company's CEO compared it to a baseball player sliding into a base. During the slide, the spacecraft rolled once or twice, before coming to rest inside the crater. The impact also kicked up regolith that coated the solar panels in dust, further degrading their performance. Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 Q3 2026 Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 New Glenn Griffin Mission One July 2026 Astrobotic Griffin Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon Heavy ≈100 Earth days Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 2 Late 2027 Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 New Glenn The lander will carry NASA's VIPER rover to the Moon. ispace Mission 5 2030 ispace / Draper ULTRA ≈9–10 Earth days
See also
List of Apollo missions List of Constellation missions List of Space Shuttle missions
Notes
References
External links Artemis program at NASA