Why Go Back to the Moon?
The Apollo program landed twelve humans on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. Then, for over five decades, humans didn't return. NASA's Artemis program aims to change that — and with far more ambitious goals than Apollo. Artemis is not simply a return visit; it is the foundation of a long-term human presence on and around the Moon, serving as a stepping stone to eventual crewed missions to Mars.
What Is the Artemis Program?
Artemis is NASA's flagship human exploration program, named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology. It is a multi-mission effort with three core goals:
- Land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
- Establish a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon.
- Use the Moon as a proving ground for Mars exploration.
Artemis is an international endeavor, with participation from the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan's JAXA, Canada's CSA, and many other space agencies and commercial partners.
The Artemis Missions: A Breakdown
Artemis I (November 2022)
The first Artemis mission was an uncrewed test flight of NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The mission flew around the Moon and returned to Earth, testing all critical systems. It was a landmark validation of the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built.
Artemis II
The first crewed Artemis mission will carry four astronauts on a flight around the Moon — the first humans to travel to lunar distance since Apollo 17 in 1972. This mission will not land on the Moon but will confirm that life support, navigation, and all crewed systems function correctly in deep space.
Artemis III and Beyond
Artemis III is planned to be the first crewed Moon landing of the program, targeting the lunar south pole — a region never visited before. The south pole is scientifically compelling because:
- Permanently shadowed craters contain water ice, which could be extracted for drinking water, oxygen, and rocket propellant.
- The terrain offers areas of near-permanent sunlight for solar power generation.
- The geology holds a record of the early solar system locked in pristine ancient rock.
The Gateway: A Lunar Space Station
A key element of the long-term Artemis architecture is the Lunar Gateway — a small space station orbiting the Moon that will serve as a staging point for surface missions. Built in collaboration with international partners, the Gateway will provide a habitat, laboratory, and docking hub. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit, the Gateway will be in a unique lunar orbit called a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), giving it good coverage of the lunar south pole.
Commercial Partners: SpaceX and Beyond
Unlike Apollo, which used government-built hardware throughout, Artemis relies heavily on commercial partnerships. SpaceX's Starship has been selected as the Human Landing System (HLS) for the first lunar landings. Blue Origin is also developing a competing lander for later missions. This commercial approach is intended to drive down costs and accelerate innovation.
Artemis and the Road to Mars
Every technology and operational procedure developed for Artemis — long-duration life support, in-situ resource utilization (using lunar materials), deep-space navigation, and crewed spacecraft operations far from Earth — directly informs the eventual goal of sending humans to Mars. The Moon is, in this sense, humanity's proving ground: close enough to manage emergencies, yet distant enough to test the systems we'll need for the 7-month journey to the Red Planet.
A New Era of Exploration
The Artemis program represents a generational shift in how humanity approaches space. With more nations, more companies, and more people involved than ever before, the return to the Moon is not just a scientific or technological endeavor — it is the beginning of a permanent human expansion into the solar system. The footprints on the lunar south pole will be just the first of many.