Artemis space programme

NASA’s ambitious Artemis programme sees the U.S. endeavour to
return humans to the moon’s surface, as well as construct the
first moonbase on our nearest celestial neighbour

WHERE WE ARE IN ARTEMIS MISSION TIMELINE?

Nov 2022,
Artemis I:
Uncrewed
lunar orbit and
return – first in
increasingly
complicated
series of
missions to
ultimately
enable
human
exploration
of moon

April 2026,
Artemis II:
Approximately
10-day-long
mission to
send four
astronauts on
flyby of moon
– first such
voyage since
Apollo era
missions in
1960s and
1970s

2027,
Artemis III:
Crewed test
in Earth orbit
of SpaceX’s
Starship
Human
Landing
System
(HLS) and
Blue Origin’s
Blue Moon
lander (see
below)

2028,
Artemis IV:
First Artemis
manned moon
landing. After
reaching lunar
orbit, crew
transfers from
Orion to
commercial
lunar lander
for their
descent to
surface

2028,
Artemis V:
NASA expects
to launch this
lunar surface
mission by
end of year,
to begin
construction
of moonbase
– subsequent
missions
scheduled
annually

In Greek mythology,
Artemis was daughter
of Zeus, goddess of
Moon and, aptly, twin
sister of Apollo

Emblem hidden
meaning: Apex of “A”
points beyond Moon
to signify Mars
ambitions

Artist’s impression of how NASA would
like to see future Artemis missions
develop on moon

SpaceX
Starship
HLS

Blue Origin
Blue Moon
lander

Sources: Reuters, NASA, Royal Museums Greenwich
Illustration: NASA
© GRAPHIC NEWS