March 30 (Reuters) – NASA’s Artemis program is a U.S. effort to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era and establish a permanent human presence there, a goal Washington has framed as a way to maintain space leadership amid growing competition from China. Here are the highlights of the Artemis program:
2017–2018: The program has been revived
During the first administration of President Donald Trump, NASA was ordered to refocus on human spaceflight after years of putting Mars first. The lunar effort would be built around the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew capsule, hardware developed for the first time under the Constellation program, with Boeing serving as prime contractor for the SLS platform, Northrop Grumman developing the rocket boosters, and Lockheed Martin building the Orion spacecraft.
2019: Fast forward schedule
In 2019, the White House set a goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2024. Although the “Moon to Mars” program would not receive the name Artemis until months later, NASA defined a sequence of three missions: Artemis I, an inactive test spacecraft; Artemis II, moonwalker in flight; and Artemis III, to reach the moon.
2020–2021: Delayed rise, chosen moon phase
Technical problems, rising costs and disruptions related to the COVID pandemic have pushed back the schedules of the SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft and the Kennedy Space Center’s launch equipment. NASA has chosen SpaceX’s Starship as the first lunar lander, keeping the goal of reaching the moon in 2024 but admitting that it may not be possible.
2022: Artemis I fly
In November 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, sending an unmanned Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon and back during a 25-day mission. The spacecraft tested Orion’s deep space, communications and thermal protection during high-speed re-entry, an important step before flying with astronauts.
2023–2024: The program has been revised
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is considered to be NASA’s second lunar launch partner in 2023 after months of legal disputes over the agency’s decision to choose only SpaceX’s Starship. Later, under the administration of President Joe Biden, NASA reset the timelines for Artemis, pushing the arrival of the first moon to 2027. The agency continued to defend the program amid budget scrutiny, while highlighting the same ambitions of the Chinese moon.
2024: The Artemis II crew is named
NASA announced the four Artemis II astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission will be the first crewed trip to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
2026: The Artemis program was reformed under new leadership
After taking office, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the Artemis program, canceling plans for the Lunar Gateway – a space station designed to orbit the moon – and moving its components to build a permanent base on the lunar surface. He also included some crew work before the moon landing, arguing that the extra flight would help crews and ground teams build up “muscle concepts” in deep space before attempting sustained missions.
April 2026: Artemis II mission to orbit the moon
In April 2026, NASA plans to launch Artemis II, a 10-day mission that will send four astronauts to the moon, the first such mission since the Apollo era. The mission won’t land on the moon but will push astronauts farther from Earth than any human spacecraft, testing Orion’s life support, navigation, communications and thermal protection systems in deep space — capabilities NASA says are essential before attempting a lunar landing.
Later this decade: the arrival of the moon is planned
Artemis is intended to return astronauts to the lunar surface using a commercially-advanced satellite, a step NASA says is important ahead of future missions to Mars. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are competing to provide space for the moon, which is part of NASA’s process of enlisting private companies to provide equipment for deep space exploration. The first Artemis crew is expected to take on whoever completes development first.
(Reporting by Joe Brock in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
#Highlights #NASAs #Artemis #moon #program