Astronomy:List of Artemis missions

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Short description: US deep space exploration programs

Emblem of the Artemis program

The Artemis program is a human spaceflight program by the United States. The Artemis program is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972; mid-term objectives include establishing an international expedition team, and a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Long-term objectives for Artemis are laying the foundations for the extraction of lunar resources, and eventually making crewed missions to Mars and beyond feasible.

To date, missions in the program are aimed at exploration of the Moon, including crewed and robotic exploration of the lunar surface. These explorations will be more focused towards areas such as the lunar poles and the far side of the moon. Three flights of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle are currently planned for launch in the Artemis program in the early 2020s, beginning with Artemis 1. Before Artemis was named, the flights were referred to as "Orion missions". Numerous supporting scientific and technology demonstration missions are planned for launch under the program's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).

Main missions

Mission Launch date Crew Launch vehicle[lower-alpha 1] Launch pad Duration[lower-alpha 2]
EFT-1
December 5, 2014 (2014-12-05Z)
12:05 UTC
7:05 am EST[1][2]
N/A
Uncrewed mission
Delta IV Heavy Cape Canaveral
Space Force Station, SLC-37B
4h 24m (success)
Exploration Flight Test 1, high apogee high reentry test, carrying an uncrewed Orion capsule on its first spaceflight.
Artemis I
Artemis I insignia
November 16, 2022
06:47:44 UTC
1:47:44 am EST[3][4]
N/A
Uncrewed mission
SLS Block 1 Crew Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B 25.5d (success)
Maiden flight of the SLS, formerly "Exploration Mission 1" (EM1), carrying an uncrewed Orion capsule and ten CubeSats selected through several programs.[5] The payloads were sent on a trans-lunar injection trajectory.[6][7]
Artemis II
Artemis II insignia
April 1, 2026
22:24 UTC
6:24 pm EDT[8][9]
United States Reid Wiseman
United States Victor Glover
United States Christina Koch
Canada Jeremy Hansen
SLS Block 1 Crew Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B ≈10d
First crewed flight, carrying four crew members on a circumlunar free-return trajectory.
Artemis III NET 2027 (planned)[10] TBA SLS Block 1 Crew Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B ≈10d
Crewed orbital mission docking to the Starship HLS or Blue Moon Mark 2 lander or both.
Artemis IV Early 2028 (planned)[10] TBA SLS Block 1 Crew Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B ≈30d
First lunar landing of the Artemis program. 4-person lunar orbit with 2-person lunar landing.
Artemis V Late 2028 (planned)[10] TBA SLS Block 1 Crew Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B ≈30d
Second Artemis crewed lunar landing.

Support missions

Technology demonstrations

Launched on June 28, 2022,[11] the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment ("CAPSTONE") mission is a small (25 kg) technology-demonstration spacecraft designed to test a low-energy trans-lunar trajectories and to demonstrate the near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) intended to support lunar polar missions.[12]

Peregrine (left) and Nova-C (right) will be the first two robotic landers to directly support the Artemis program.

Surface missions

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program will support the Artemis program by landing several small payloads focused on scouting for lunar resources, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) experiments, and lunar science, in preparation for an extended human presence on the lunar surface.[13][14][15]

List of CLPS missions
Mission Launch date Operator Lander Secondary spacecraft Launch pad Launch vehicle[lower-alpha 1] Duration[lower-alpha 2] References
Peregrine Mission One January 8, 2024 Astrobotic Peregrine Iris
Colmena x 5
Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 Vulcan Centaur 10 days (failure) [16]
The lander carried multiple payloads, with a total payload mass capacity of 90 kg.[17] However, the spacecraft was unable to reach the moon because of a propellant leak. It burned up over the Pacific Ocean on January 18.[18]
IM-1 February 15, 2024 Intuitive Machines Nova-C Eaglecam Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon 9 7 days [19]
The lander carried six NASA-sponsored instruments, as well as six payloads from other customers, including EagleCAM.[20] The Odysseus lander successfully touched down at Malapert A near the lunar south pole on February 22, 2024.[21] The mission ended after 7 days with the onset of lunar night, after which no further signals from the spacecraft were received.[22]
Blue Ghost M1 January 15, 2025 Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon 9 13 days [23][24][25]
The Blue Ghost lander launched on January 15, 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and successfully landed in the Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025, thus becoming only the second commercial mission to achieve a successful moon landing.[26]
IM-2 February 27, 2025 Intuitive Machines Nova-C Micro-Nova Gracie
AstroAnt
MAPP LV1
Yaoki
Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon 9 12 hours
(Partial failure)
[27]
The mission successfully launched on February 27, 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and landed at lunar south pole in Mons Mouton on March 6, 2024.[28] However, the lander tipped after touchdown, preventing any meaningful scientific experiments from being performed.[29] On March 13, Intuitive Machines shared that, like on the IM-1 mission, the Athena's altimeter had failed during landing, leaving its onboard computer without an accurate altitude reading. As a result, the spacecraft struck a plateau, tipped over, and skidded across the lunar surface, rolling once or twice before settling inside the crater. The company's CEO compared it to a baseball player sliding into a base. During the slide, the spacecraft rolled once or twice, before coming to rest inside the crater. The impact also kicked up regolith that coated the solar panels in dust, further degrading their performance.[30]
Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 Q1 2026 Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 New Glenn [31]


Griffin Mission One July 2026 Astrobotic Griffin Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A Falcon Heavy ≈100 Earth days [32][33]
ispace Mission 5 2030 ispace / Draper ULTRA TBA TBA ≈9–10 Earth days [34]


See also

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Serial number displayed in parentheses.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Time displayed in days, hours, minutes, and seconds.

References

  1. Rhian, Jason (March 14, 2014). "NASA's EFT-1 Mission Slips to December". http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/nasas-eft-1-mission-slips-december/. 
  2. Siceloff, Steven (December 5, 2014). "LIFTOFF! Orion Begins New Era in Space Exploration!". NASA. https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/2014/12/05/liftoff-orion-begins-new-era-in-space-exploration/. 
  3. Roulette, Joey; Gorman, Steve (November 16, 2022). "NASA's next-generation Artemis mission heads to moon on debut test flight". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/nasas-artemis-moon-rocket-begins-fueling-debut-launch-2022-11-15/. 
  4. "Artemis 1". NASA. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2022-156A. 
  5. Harbaugh, Jennifer (4 October 2021). "All Artemis I Secondary Payloads Installed in Rocket's Orion Stage Adapter". NASA. https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2021/10/04/all-artemis-i-secondary-payloads-installed-in-rockets-orion-stage-adapter/. 
  6. Crane, Aimee (11 June 2019). "Artemis 1 Flight Control Team Simulates Mission Scenarios". NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/artemis-1-flight-control-team-simulates-mission-scenarios. "...after the Space Launch System performs the Trans-Lunar Injection burn that sends the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and toward the Moon."  Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. Clark, Stephen (22 July 2019). "First moon-bound Orion crew capsule declared complete, major tests remain". Spaceflight Now. https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/07/22/first-moon-bound-orion-crew-capsule-declared-complete-major-test-campaign-planned-this-fall/. "The Artemis 1 mission profile. Credit: NASA [...] The Artemis 1 mission will send the Orion spacecraft into a distant retrograde lunar orbit and back..." 
  8. Clark, Stephen (2026-02-21). "NASA says it needs to haul the Artemis II rocket back to the hangar for repairs" (in en). https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/02/nasa-says-it-needs-to-haul-the-artemis-ii-rocket-back-to-the-hangar-for-repairs/. 
  9. "Artemis II Mission Availability PDF" (in en). https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/artemis-ii-mission-availability.pdf?emrc=51eb50. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Warner, Cheryl (3 March 2026). "NASA Strengthens Artemis: Adds Mission, Refines Overall Architecture". NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/esdmd/nasa-strengthens-artemis-adds-mission-refines-overall-architecture/. 
  11. Dodson, Gerelle (June 28, 2022), "CAPSTONE Launches to Test New Orbit for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions", NASA RELEASE 22-067. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  12. Hall, Laura (Apr. 29, 2022). "What is CAPSTONE", NASA. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  13. NASA taps 3 companies for commercial moon missions William Harwood CBS News May 31, 2019
  14. NASA awards contracts to three companies to land payloads on the moon Jeff Foust SpaceNews May 31, 2019
  15. "NASA Expands Plans for Moon Exploration: More Missions, More Science". NASA. 30 April 2018. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-expands-plans-for-moon-exploration-more-missions-more-science.  Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  16. "US Moon mission on course for fiery destruction" (in en-GB). 18 January 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67962397. 
  17. "NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=PEREGRN-1. 
  18. Wattles, Jackie (2024-01-19). "Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander burns up over Pacific Ocean" (in en). https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/18/world/peregrine-lunar-lander-astrobotic-nasa-scn/index.html. 
  19. Foust, Jeff (2023-12-19). "Intuitive Machines delays first lunar lander launch to February". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/intuitive-machines-delays-first-lunar-lander-launch-to-february/. 
  20. "Media teleconference – Lunar Delivery Readiness for First Intuitive Machines Moon Flight". NASA. 13 February 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcukbOmiU-c.  ( Page will play audio when loaded) .
  21. "Intuitive Machines lands on the moon in historic first for a U.S. company". 2024-02-22. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/22/intuitive-machines-lunr-im-1-moon-landing-for-nasa.html. 
  22. "IM-1 Mission Updates". intuitivemachines.com. 2024-03-23. https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1. 
  23. Alamalhoadei, Aria (6 November 2023). "Firefly's Blue Ghost lander represents a big bet on a future lunar economy". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/06/fireflys-blue-ghost-lander-represents-a-big-bet-on-a-future-lunar-economy/. 
  24. "Firefly Aerospace Awards Contract to SpaceX to Launch Blue Ghost Mission to Moon in 2023". Business Wire. 20 May 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210520005731/en/Firefly-Aerospace-Awards-Contract-to-SpaceX-to-Launch-Blue-Ghost-Mission-to-Moon-in-2023. 
  25. "Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 1 to the Moon Readies for Launch". Firefly Aerospace. 2024-11-25. https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-blue-ghost-mission-1-to-the-moon-readies-for-launch/. 
  26. "Firefly's Blue Ghost lander successfully touches down on the moon". cnn.com. March 2, 2025. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/01/science/blue-ghost-mission-moon-landing. 
  27. David, Leonard (12 September 2024). "Ice-hunting Lunar Trailblazer and IM-2 nearly ready for January 2025 launch". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/ice-hunting-lunar-trailblazer-im2-nearly-ready-january-2025-launch/. 
  28. "Commercial lunar lander Athena heading to the moon with a drill, rover and rocket-powered "hopper" to search for ice". cbsnews.com. 2025-02-27. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lunar-lander-athena-launch-ice-search-on-moon/. 
  29. "NASA Receives Some Data Before Intuitive Machines Ends Lunar Mission". nasa.gov. 2025-03-07. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-receives-some-data-before-intuitive-machines-ends-lunar-mission/. 
  30. Berger, Eric (2025-03-13). "Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was minus 280° F" (in en-US). https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/athena-landed-in-a-dark-crater-where-the-temperature-was-minus-280-f/. 
  31. Luinstra, Martijn (2025-01-26). "NASA's CLPS program accelerates as two landers head for the Moon" (in en-US). nasaspaceflight. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/01/lunar-missions-roundup/. 
  32. Foust, Jeff (17 July 2024). "NASA cancels VIPER lunar rover". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/nasa-cancels-viper-lunar-rover/. "NASA said Griffin was now expected to be ready for the mission no earlier than September 2025." 
  33. Foust, Jeff (13 April 2021). "Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA's VIPER lunar rover". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-selects-falcon-heavy-to-launch-nasas-viper-lunar-rover/. 
  34. "ispace Announces New "ULTRA" Lunar Lander Integrating Japanese and U.S. Lander Models". ispace. 27 March 2026. https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=8718.