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Artemis Missions
- Isabella Roquette
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Hello Universe!
Today, I’m going to provide context on the Artemis missions, also known as the next revolutionary space explorations.
Artemis Program
The Artemis program is NASA’s new lunar exploration program. It will include various missions, including one that will land the first woman and person of color on the Moon. Its main goal is to study the Moon in new ways and prepare for human missions to Mars. NASA is returning to the Moon for scientific discovery and to inspire the Artemis Generation, a new generation of explorers. It prepares to establish a robot-human presence on and around the Moon. NASA will collaborate with commercial and international partners in order to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon.
Artemis I
Artemis I was the first mission in the Artemis program, completed in 2022. It was done to ensure the safety of NASA’s new spacecraft in a spaceflight environment and re-entry. It was an uncrewed lunar flight test placed into lunar orbit and returned to Earth, with an approximate duration of 25 days. This was the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems using the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS). It aimed to test the SLS and Orion Spacecraft, specifically its heat shield, to see how it would endure during future missions. This was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis II
Artemis II will have four astronauts venture around the moon on NASA’s first crewed mission to establish a long-term presence on the Moon for science and exploration purposes. This mission is a crewed lunar flyby planned to be done in April 2026. This ten-day flight will test NASA’s human deep space exploration capabilities with the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft, previously used for Artemis I. These astronauts will be Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, all of whom are American, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, the first Canadian and non-American to fly to the Moon.
Artemis III
Artemis III will be the culmination of this process's testing period. The same four astronauts will travel again to the moon, making history. This mission will land in the Moon’s south polar region. It will be a crewed surface landing, lasting approximately 30 days, and it is planned to be launched in mid-2027. During these 30 days, the astronauts will travel to lunar orbit, where two crew members will descend to the surface and spend about a week near the South Pole of the Moon conducting experiments before joining their crew for the journey back to Earth. This mission will be humanity’s first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. The observation, samples, and data from this mission will expand our understanding of our solar system.
Artemis IV
Artemis IV plans to send astronauts to live and work in humanity’s first lunar space station, Gateway. This station will include docking ports for spacecraft, space for crew to work in, and instruments for science investigations. This mission will include multiple launches and spacecraft docking in lunar orbit. Once Gateway is fully operational, two astronauts will board Starship and spend about six days on the lunar surface.
Artemis V
Artemis V consists of the astronauts’ quarter-million-mile journey back to Earth aboard Orion. Once the optimal departure point is reached, Orion will harness the Moon’s gravity to get home. On Earth, recovery teams will await their arrival in the Pacific Ocean.
Space Launch System Apollo Missions Crew
The Artemis Program aims to develop space travel, establish long-term lunar exploration, and prepare for future missions to Mars. This program’s goal is scientific discovery, economic benefits, and building global alliances. Throughout this process, the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, Gateway, human landing systems, and advanced spacesuits are key to long-term human exploration on the Moon.
