For the first time in over fifty years, humans are going back to the Moon. This time, it is not just to visit. NASA’s Artemis program is a new generation of missions with a huge goal: to build a long-term human presence on the Moon. This means learning to live and work on another world. The program is named after Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology, who was the goddess of the Moon. This name is fitting, as the Artemis missions will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.
This is a massive and exciting project that involves new rockets, new spacecraft, and new goals. The plan is very different from the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s. Instead of just planting a flag and taking a few rocks, Artemis is about science, sustainability, and setting the stage for an even bigger journey: sending astronauts to Mars. The entire mission is a step-by-step plan that uses different pieces of amazing technology, all working together perfectly.
But how will it actually work? It is not as simple as pointing a rocket at the Moon. The plan for the first landing, called Artemis III, is a complex dance of multiple spacecraft launching at different times and meeting up in deep space. How will the astronauts launch from Earth, get all the way to the Moon, and then safely land on the surface?
What Is the Main Goal of the Artemis Mission?
The main goal of the Artemis mission is to establish a long-term human presence on and around the Moon. This is the biggest difference from the Apollo missions. Apollo missions were short trips, like a sprint. Artemis is a marathon. NASA wants to learn how to live and work in a deep-space environment for long periods. By doing this, we can test all the technologies and strategies we will one day need to send humans to Mars, which is a much longer and more difficult journey.
A key part of this goal is science. Artemis missions are targeting the Moon’s South Pole, a region we have never explored with astronauts. Scientists believe that deep, permanently shadowed craters at the South Pole contain large amounts of water ice. This ice is incredibly valuable. It can be melted for drinking water, and it can be split into hydrogen and oxygen. These are the two main ingredients for breathable air and, just as importantly, rocket fuel. If we can “live off the land” by using the Moon’s water, we do not have to launch everything we need from Earth, which makes deep space exploration much cheaper and more possible.
Finally, Artemis is about collaboration. NASA is leading the mission, but it is working with international partners from many different countries, as well as commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. This creates a global effort for exploration and helps build a “lunar economy,” where companies can find new ways to work in space. The plan is not just to go back to the Moon, but to create a permanent and sustainable base of operations that will benefit humanity for decades to come.
What Rocket Will Take the Astronauts to the Moon?
The astronauts will begin their journey on the most powerful rocket in the world: NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS. This is a true “mega-rocket,” standing taller than the Statue of Liberty and designed for one purpose: to launch very heavy things very far away, all in one go. For the Artemis III mission, the SLS rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft, with four astronauts inside, off the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its job is to give the crew the massive push they need to escape Earth’s gravity and begin their multi-day trip to the Moon.
The SLS is an “expendable” rocket, which means most of it is used only once. It has two large solid rocket boosters on the sides and a massive orange core stage in the middle, all of which provide a truly incredible amount of thrust. After just a few minutes, these powerful boosters and the core stage will run out of fuel and fall away, leaving the Orion spacecraft attached to a smaller upper stage. This upper stage will then fire its own engine at the perfect moment, performing a maneuver called the “trans-lunar injection.” This is the final, precise push that slingshots Orion out of Earth’s orbit and sets it on its path to the Moon.
Without the SLS, the mission would be much harder. Its sheer power is what allows NASA to send a crew of four astronauts and their sophisticated spacecraft on a direct path to the Moon in a single launch. It is the foundation of the entire Artemis mission, the “heavy-lifter” that starts the whole adventure. The successful uncrewed test flight of this rocket, Artemis I, proved that this powerful system works and is ready to carry humans.
What Spacecraft Will the Astronauts Travel In?
The astronauts will travel in a spacecraft called Orion. This is their “ride” for the journey. Orion is a state-of-the-art capsule designed specifically for deep space missions, far from Earth. It launches on top of the giant SLS rocket, but once the rocket’s job is done, Orion is the ship that takes over. It is the crew’s “taxi” to lunar orbit and, most importantly, their “lifeboat” for the ride home. The Orion capsule is where the four astronauts will live and work for the several-day journey from Earth to the Moon.
Orion is made of two main parts. There is the crew capsule, which is the cone-shaped area where the astronauts sit and where all the computers and life support systems are. Then there is the service module, a large cylindrical section attached to the back, which is built by the European Space Agency. This service module is like the “engine room” of the ship. It has the main engine for maneuvering in space, it carries all the fuel, and it has solar panels that unfold to provide electricity. It also carries water and oxygen for the crew.
While Orion is the main transport, it will not land on the Moon. Its job is to get the crew to lunar orbit and wait for them. After the lunar part of the mission is over, the four astronauts will reunite in Orion for the long trip back to Earth. Orion’s most critical job is the very last one: reentry. It is designed to hit Earth’s atmosphere at extreme speeds, over 25,000 miles per hour, which creates intense heat. Its advanced heat shield protects the crew inside before a series of eleven parachutes deploy to slow it down for a gentle splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
How Will the Astronauts Get from Lunar Orbit to the Surface?
This is where the Artemis plan gets really interesting and very different from Apollo. The astronauts will not use a lander that is carried with them from Earth. Instead, a separate, giant lander will be waiting for them at the Moon. This lander is called the Human Landing System, or HLS. For the first landing, Artemis III, NASA has partnered with SpaceX to use a special version of their Starship vehicle as the HLS. This lander is enormous, standing as tall as a 15-story building, and it will be launched to space all by itself, with no crew.
The HLS Starship cannot get to the Moon on its own fuel tanks. So, well before the astronauts even launch, SpaceX will first launch the empty HLS into orbit around the Earth. Then, SpaceX will launch multiple “tanker” Starships to meet up with it and transfer a massive amount of propellant. It is like refueling a giant truck in space. Once the HLS is fully fueled, it will fire its own engines and fly itself, uncrewed, all the way to the Moon. It will park in a special, efficient orbit around the Moon called a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit, or NRHO.
Only when the HLS is confirmed to be safely in this lunar orbit will NASA launch the four astronauts on the SLS rocket. The crew will fly the Orion spacecraft to the same NRHO orbit and then perform a historic docking. The small Orion capsule will connect directly to the giant Starship lander. Two of the four astronauts will say goodbye to their crewmates, climb from Orion into the Starship, and prepare for landing. The Starship will then undock, fire its engines, and begin its slow, powered descent to the surface of the Moon’s South Pole. Because Starship is so tall, it will have a special elevator on its side to lower the astronauts and their equipment down to the lunar soil.
What Is the “Gateway” and Will Artemis III Use It?
You may have heard of another key part of the Artemis plan called the Gateway. The Gateway is a small, human-tended space station that NASA and its international partners will build in orbit around the Moon. It is a very important part of the long-term plan. Think of it as a “waypoint” or a “small apartment” in deep space. It will serve as a docking port for Orion and the lunar landers, a science laboratory, and a command center for missions on the surface. It is designed to be a reusable hub that makes regular trips to the Moon much easier.
However, the Gateway will not be used for the Artemis III mission. The Gateway is still being built and will be assembled in lunar orbit on later missions. For the very first landing, the plan is simpler, as described above. The Orion spacecraft will dock directly with the SpaceX Starship HLS, and the astronauts will transfer between the two ships. This direct approach gets astronauts to the surface faster without needing the Gateway to be finished.
The Gateway becomes essential for missions after Artemis III, starting with Artemis IV. On those missions, the four astronauts will fly Orion to the Gateway and dock. The Gateway will be their “home base” in lunar orbit. The lunar lander, which for later missions will include a new lander being built by Blue Origin, will meet them there. The Gateway will allow for longer missions, more complex science, and a staging point for crews to prepare for their trips to the surface. It is the key piece for making our presence at the Moon sustainable and permanent.
What Will the Astronauts Do on the Moon?
The two astronauts who land on the Artemis III mission will spend about six and a half days on the lunar surface. This is much longer than the Apollo missions, which were often only two or three days. Their landing spot near the Moon’s South Pole is a completely new and alien environment. It is a land of extreme light and dark, with some crater floors that have not seen sunlight in billions of years. The astronauts will be the first humans to ever explore this mysterious region.
Their main job is to be scientist-explorers. They will perform several “moonwalks,” known as Extra-Vehicular Activities or EVAs. To do this, they will wear brand-new, advanced spacesuits made by a company called Axiom Space. These new suits are far more flexible than the bulky Apollo suits. They are designed like a personal spacecraft, allowing the astronauts to walk, bend, kneel, and use tools much more easily. This mobility is critical for doing real field geology.
Their primary scientific goal will be to search for and collect samples of water ice. They will venture into or near the permanently shadowed craters, where temperatures are among the coldest in the solar system. Using drills and other tools, they will collect samples of the lunar regolith (soil) to see if it contains ice. They will also set up science experiments, study the local geology, and plant the Artemis flag. Their large Starship lander will serve as their habitat, power station, and science lab for the entire week they are on the surface.
How Will the Astronauts Get Back to Earth?
The return journey is another multi-step process that relies on careful timing and precision. After their week of exploration is over, the two astronauts will pack all their lunar samples and science data into the Starship HLS. They will climb back aboard, seal the hatch, and prepare for liftoff. The Starship lander is also their ascent vehicle. Using its powerful engines, the entire giant spacecraft will lift off vertically from the lunar surface, climbing back into the same Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit where it started.
Meanwhile, the other two astronauts have been orbiting the Moon the whole time inside the Orion capsule. They will pilot Orion to rendezvous and dock once again with the ascending Starship. Once the two ships are securely connected, the two moonwalkers will transfer themselves and their precious cargo of Moon rocks and ice samples back into the Orion capsule, rejoining their crewmates. They will be the first crew to reunite in lunar orbit since the Apollo era.
With all four astronauts safely back in Orion, their work with the Starship HLS is finished. The Orion capsule will undock from the Starship, which will be left behind in lunar orbit. The crew will then fire Orion’s main engine to perform the “trans-Earth injection” burn. This is the powerful push that breaks them free from the Moon’s gravity and sends them on the long, three-day coast back home. The final step is the high-speed reentry, where Orion’s heat shield glows red-hot as it streaks through the atmosphere, followed by the parachute splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, where a recovery ship will be waiting to pick them up.
Conclusion
The Artemis mission is a bold and inspiring new chapter in human exploration. It is a plan built on powerful new technology, like the SLS rocket that provides the initial launch, the Orion capsule that serves as the crew’s deep-space transport, and the Human Landing System that acts as the “lunar elevator” to the surface. By landing at the unexplored South Pole, astronauts will search for water ice and conduct new science that could change our future in space.
This first landing, Artemis III, is just the beginning. It sets the stage for future missions that will use the Gateway, new rovers, and international partners to build a permanent human foothold on the Moon. It is a complex, step-by-step plan that is bringing humanity back to the Moon, not just to visit, but this time, to stay. As we watch these missions unfold, what new discoveries about the Moon do you think will surprise us the most?
FAQs – People Also Ask
Why is the mission named Artemis?
The program is named Artemis after the Greek goddess of the Moon and the twin sister of Apollo. NASA’s first Moon landing program was named Apollo. Since the new program will land the first woman on the Moon, the name Artemis was chosen to represent this new generation of explorers.
How many astronauts will be on the Artemis III mission?
The Artemis III mission will have a crew of four astronauts. They will all launch from Earth and travel to lunar orbit in the Orion spacecraft. Two of the astronauts will then transfer to the Human Landing System to land on the Moon, while the other two remain in orbit inside Orion.
Why is NASA landing at the Moon’s South Pole?
The Moon’s South Pole is a very special region that scientists are eager to study. It has craters that are “permanently shadowed,” meaning their floors have not seen sunlight in billions of years. Scientists believe these ultra-cold craters trap large amounts of water ice, which could be a valuable resource for future astronauts.
How long will the Artemis III astronauts stay on the Moon?
The entire Artemis III mission is expected to last about 30 days from launch to splashdown. The two astronauts who land on the lunar surface will spend about six and a half days there, living and working out of their lander before returning to orbit.
What is the difference between Artemis and Apollo?
The Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s were short visits focused on exploration and winning the space race. The Artemis missions are focused on building a long-term, sustainable human presence on the Moon. Artemis uses new technologies and commercial partners with the goal of learning to live on another world to prepare for future missions to Mars.
What is the Human Landing System, or HLS?
The Human Landing System (HLS) is the spacecraft that will carry astronauts from lunar orbit down to the surface of the Moon and back up again. For the Artemis III mission, NASA has selected a version of SpaceX’s Starship to be the HLS. For later missions, other landers, like Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, will also be used.
What is the Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO)?
The NRHO is a special, highly stable orbit around the Moon. It is a “halo” shaped orbit that passes close to one lunar pole and far out from the other. NASA chose this orbit for the Gateway and for Artemis missions because it is very fuel-efficient and provides a constant view of Earth for communication.
Will the Gateway be used on the Artemis III mission?
No, the Gateway space station will not be used for Artemis III. For this first landing, the Orion spacecraft will dock directly with the Starship lander in lunar orbit. The Gateway will be assembled in orbit during later missions, starting with Artemis IV, and will be used as a waypoint for future landings.
What spacesuits will the Artemis astronauts wear?
Artemis astronauts will wear new, highly advanced spacesuits built by Axiom Space. These suits are designed to be much more flexible and mobile than the Apollo suits. This will allow the astronauts to walk more naturally, bend over to pick up rocks, and use tools much more effectively during their moonwalks.
How fast will the Orion spacecraft be traveling when it returns to Earth?
When the Orion capsule reenters Earth’s atmosphere, it will be traveling at about 25,000 miles per hour (or 11 kilometers per second). This incredible speed generates intense heat of nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Orion’s advanced heat shield is designed to protect the astronauts from this extreme reentry.