Artemis program
The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program that is led by the United States' NASA and was formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The Artemis program is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The program's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars.
| Program overview | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Organization | NASA and partners: ESA, JAXA, DLR, ASI, ISA and CSA |
| Purpose | Sustainable crewed lunar exploration |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Program history | |
| Cost | US$93+ billion (2012–2025), $53 billion in 2021-2025 |
| Duration | 2017–present |
| First flight | Artemis 1 (16 November 2022, 06:47:44 UTC) |
| First crewed flight | Artemis 2 (NET September 2025). |
| Launch site(s) | |
| Vehicle information | |
| Crewed vehicle(s) | |
| Launch vehicle(s) |
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| Part of a series on the |
| United States space program |
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Two principal elements of the Artemis program are derived from the now-cancelled Constellation program: the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (as a reincarnation of Ares V). Other elements of the program, such as the Lunar Gateway space station and the Human Landing System, are in development by government space agencies and private spaceflight companies. This collaboration is bound together by the Artemis Accords and governmental contracts.
The Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft and the Human Landing System form the main spaceflight infrastructure for Artemis, and the Lunar Gateway plays a supporting role in human habitation. Supporting infrastructures for Artemis include the Commercial Lunar Payload Services, VIPER rover, development of ground infrastructures, Artemis Base Camp on the Moon, Moon rovers and spacesuits. Some aspects of the program has been criticized, such as the use of near-rectilinear halo orbit and the sustainability of the space program.
Orion's first launch on the Space Launch System was originally set in 2016, but was rescheduled and launched on 16 November 2022 as the Artemis 1 mission, with robots and mannequins aboard. According to plan, the crewed Artemis 2 launch will take place in late 2025, the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing in 2026, the Artemis 4 docking with the Lunar Gateway in 2028, and future yearly landings on the Moon thereafter.