This week NASA announced big changes to its Artemis program. This will be the agency’s first go-back of humans to the Moon in 50 years! The updated timeline includes one additional uncrewed mission before the agency lands astronauts on the lunar surface. Its first launch opportunity is now in April 2024. The precise timing does depend on how long ongoing technical work takes.
The upcoming Artemis II mission, scheduled for next April and crewed by four astronauts, will be the first with humans aboard. They’ll fly around the Moon’s far side before returning home. This ambiguous mission is a steppingstone to Artemis III, for better or worse. Its objective is to help us accurately rendezvous and dock with a future lunar lander. With Artemis III, operations will be concentrated in low-Earth orbit and the timeframe is moved to 2027, bringing the crew homeward bound.
In recent years, NASA has faced mounting pressure for the United States to return to the Moon. They won a competitive contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to design and build the lunar lander. The lander will take the lunar hop inside a SpaceX Starship rocket. Now the U.S. is focused on the Moon’s south pole for its next crewed landing. This landscape has drawn interest for its economic opportunities.
Jared Isaacman, founder of leading space industry entrepreneur, on what happened and what changed. He noted in the testimony the important role of testing systems that are fully integrated.
“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 agency’s pivot occurs as China speeds up its lunar plans, targeting a crewed landing by 2030. China has been working determinedly to get there, pouring even more coal on the fire of lunar exploration competition.
NASA initially planned for Artemis II to make a circumlunar flight. From there, they set their sights on Artemis III being the first crewed lunar landing, proposing 2028 as a target. These changes are along the lines of the agency’s insistence on every step being thoroughly tested and practiced before once again setting foot on the lunar surface.
The Artemis missions are a significant step forward for NASA. Second, they intend to strengthen the agency’s leadership in both space exploration and innovation. With these changes, NASA is now looking to make sure its astronauts are better ready for the challenges that await them on the surface of the Moon.