NASA has just scored a major kaboom in its long-running Artemis 1 program. They are inserting a new test mission before astronauts finally return to the long-awaited return to the Moon, a destination not reached in almost 50 years. With Artemis II, the next mission in NASA’s groundbreaking Artemis program, a crew of four astronauts will fly on the far side of the Moon and back to Earth. This journey paves the way for future lunar landings.
The Artemis II mission is currently scheduled for April 2024, although the exact date will depend on the duration of necessary technical work. The astronauts chosen to participate in this mission are Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch. Their adventure is a crucible for upcoming missions. It offers crucial information on the performance of spacecraft and dynamics of operation.
In a major departure from their initial plan, NASA will launch their first crewed Artemis III mission from much closer to home. Instead of attempting a lunar landing in 2028, the Artemis III crew will practice docking with a lunar lander in low-Earth orbit in 2027. This new docking methodology accommodates docking with one or both of the lunar landers. Most importantly, it improves safety, reducing the risks inherent in the complex operations required to safely land on the Moon.
The decision to conduct an additional flight to low-Earth orbit before landing on the Moon reflects NASA’s commitment to ensuring mission success. As SpaceX and CREW-1 mission commander Jared Isaacman told us when we first pitched this idea — that was the beauty of this approach.
“You don’t go from one uncrewed launch of SLS [Artemis I], wait three years, go around the Moon [Artemis II], wait three years and land on it,” – Jared Isaacman.
NASA’s Artemis program aims to return humans to the lunar surface, focusing particularly on the Moon’s south pole, an area both the United States and China are targeting for future exploration. China plans to put humans on the moon by 2030. They aren’t just showing the way — they’re taking ambitious, concrete and meaningful steps to get there.
SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, has already won a contract to build the lunar lander. It will be sent into orbit on a SpaceX Starship rocket. This collaborative approach highlights NASA’s effort to use commercial partnerships to maximize mission capabilities.
Isaacman underscored the importance of venturing into low-Earth orbit to test systems instead of directly onto the Moon.
“I would certainly much rather have the astronauts testing out the integrated systems of the lander and Orion in low-Earth orbit than on the Moon,” – Jared Isaacman.
The Artemis II mission represents a crucial milestone in NASA’s efforts to safely return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there. To mitigate some of those risks, NASA is adding an auxiliary flight. This important step is to make sure every system is go, go, go — just before the historic landing.