Artemis Program
NASA's Return to the Moon
The Artemis program is NASA's initiative to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972. Named after the Greek goddess of the Moon (twin sister of Apollo), Artemis aims to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface. The program uses two key hardware elements: the Space Launch System (SLS) — the most powerful rocket ever built — and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Artemis I (November 2022) was the first uncrewed test flight; Artemis II is the first crewed mission; Artemis III is planned to land astronauts on the Moon's South Pole region, targeting water ice deposits.
- Artemis I (November 2022): uncrewed SLS/Orion test flight around the Moon — successful
- Artemis II: first crewed SLS/Orion flight — free-return trajectory (no lunar orbit, no landing)
- Artemis III: planned crewed lunar landing at the South Pole — SpaceX Starship selected as Human Landing System (HLS)
- NASA's partners: Canadian Space Agency (CSA), European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- The Artemis Accords (2020): multilateral framework for civil lunar exploration; India signed in June 2023
● Tracked since March 19, 2026 · last seen April 05, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes