Where America's space program will go next
Exploring the Moon: NASA's Artemis Program
NASA is preparing to land on the moon by 2027 through the Artemis Program. The program aims to send astronauts back to the Moon for the first time since the last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, in 1972. This ambitious program will make up the backbone of the American space program for years to come.
What is the Artemis Program?
The name “Artemis” comes from the Greek Goddess, the sister of Apollo. The program not only aims to return an American presence to the moon, but also stay there and establish lunar bases. Through the Artemis Program, NASA hopes to gain valuable experience in preparation for later missions to Mars. This includes Lunar infrastructure made up of rovers, space stations, bases, and most importantly, spacecraft.
History of the Program
The Artemis program is based on several components of previously cancelled NASA programs and missions, including the Constellation program and the Asteroid Redirect Mission.
Much of the equipment from the Artemis program was originally developed throughout the Constellation Program, which was canceled under the Obama administration due to long timelines and budget overruns.
In June of 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to re-establish the National Space Council, led by Vice-President Mike Pence. The program included much of the previous work done by previous administrations, including the Commercial Resupply Services, Commercial Crew Development, the Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft for deep space missions.
Logistics
Artemis will utilize equipment including NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which first launched in November of 2022. The Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts from Earth to lunar orbit and back. To land on the moon, NASA has contracted several private companies to develop landers, specifically SpaceX’s Starship.
