What Is the Artemis Program?
More than 50 years after Apollo 17 left the lunar surface, NASA's Artemis program is charting humanity's return to the Moon — and this time, the mission goes far beyond planting a flag. Artemis is designed to build a sustainable long-term presence on and around the Moon, using it as a stepping stone toward eventual crewed missions to Mars.
Named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, Artemis represents a new era of exploration that is broader, more international, and more technologically advanced than anything that came before it.
The Core Goals of Artemis
- Land the first woman on the Moon — a historic milestone in human spaceflight.
- Return the first person of color to the lunar surface.
- Establish the Lunar Gateway — a small space station in lunar orbit that serves as a hub for surface missions.
- Develop sustainable surface operations using in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), including extracting water ice from the lunar south pole.
- Prepare for crewed Mars missions by testing deep-space hardware and operational concepts.
Key Hardware: SLS and Orion
The backbone of Artemis is the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's most powerful rocket since the Saturn V. SLS is designed to send the Orion spacecraft — and eventually crew — beyond low Earth orbit. Orion is purpose-built for deep space: it features advanced life support, radiation shielding, and a crew module capable of sustaining astronauts for weeks.
Complementing these is the Human Landing System (HLS), for which SpaceX's Starship was selected as the initial provider. Starship will ferry astronauts from lunar orbit down to the surface and back.
Artemis Missions: A Roadmap
- Artemis I — An uncrewed test flight of SLS and Orion that looped around the Moon in late 2022, validating the systems before putting humans aboard.
- Artemis II — A crewed lunar flyby mission, sending astronauts around the Moon without landing — the first humans to travel that far since 1972.
- Artemis III — The first crewed Moon landing of the program, targeting the lunar south pole where water ice has been confirmed.
- Artemis IV and beyond — Assembly of the Lunar Gateway and regular surface expeditions.
Why the Lunar South Pole?
Unlike the Apollo landing sites near the equator, Artemis targets the lunar south pole — one of the most scientifically valuable and resource-rich areas on the Moon. Permanently shadowed craters in this region trap water ice that has accumulated over billions of years. This ice can potentially be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket propellant and drinking water, making it a critical resource for long-duration missions.
International Partners
Artemis is a truly global effort. Through the Artemis Accords — a set of bilateral agreements on norms for peaceful space exploration — NASA has partnered with space agencies from Europe (ESA), Canada (CSA), Japan (JAXA), and many others. The ESA contributes the service module for the Orion capsule, while Canada is providing a next-generation robotic arm for the Lunar Gateway.
What Artemis Means for the Future
The Artemis program is more than a series of Moon missions. It is the foundation of a permanent human presence in deep space. Every mission tests the technologies, operational procedures, and international frameworks that will one day carry humans to Mars and beyond. Whether or not you watch a launch, Artemis is writing the next great chapter of human exploration — one that could define the rest of this century.