Artemis

Artemis is NASA’s program to return humans to the Moon, this time to stay. It began in 2017 and is named after Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology. Where Apollo landed near the Moon’s equator for short visits, Artemis is aimed at the lunar south pole, where ice in permanently shadowed craters could one day supply water, oxygen and rocket fuel.

The first uncrewed test, Artemis I, sent an Orion capsule around the Moon in late 2022. In April 2026, Artemis II carried four astronauts around the Moon and back, the first humans beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17. Later that year, NASA restructured the program: it added an Earth-orbit test flight with commercial lunar landers as Artemis III, set the first landing for early 2028 on Artemis IV, and aimed for about one mission a year after that. It also paused the planned Gateway lunar space station in favor of building a base on the surface.

Artemis relies on partners. SpaceX and Blue Origin are building the lunar landers, commercial companies deliver cargo and rovers through NASA’s Moon Base program, and other space agencies contribute hardware: Europe builds Orion’s service module, and Japan is building a pressurized rover in exchange for two astronaut landings. A series of robotic missions, including VIPER, is scouting the south pole ahead of the crews.