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Congressional Research Service
Informing the legislative debate since 1914
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Updated December 5, 2024
Artemis: NASA's Program to Return Humans to the Moon
Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo program of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
landed 12 American men on the Moon and returned them
safely to Earth (see Figure 1). Since then, no human has
been farther from Earth than low-Earth orbit, a few hundred
miles up; the distance to the Moon is about 240,000 miles.
Artemis, named for Apollo's twin sister in ancient Greek
mythology, is NASA's program for a return to the Moon by
American astronauts-one of them a woman-in 2026.
Figure I. The Last Human Lunar Mission: Apollo 17
Source: NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-as |7-134-
20382/.
Note: This image shows Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt
standing on the surface of the Moon on December 13, 1972. Behind
him are the Lunar Module lander and the Lunar Roving Vehicle rover.
Orion and the Space Launch System
Artemis has evolved from plans initiated in the NASA
Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267). The act
established a statutory goal of expand[ing] permanent
human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and mandated the
development of a crew capsule and a heavy-lift rocket to
accomplish that goal. The capsule, now known as Orion,
and the rocket, known as the Space Launch System (SLS),
have been in development since then (see Figure 2).
Each Orion capsule consists of a crew module with room
for four to six astronauts as well as storage space and a
docking port; a service module (contributed by the
European Space Agency) to provide power and propulsion;
and a launch abort system. The crew module is the only
portion intended to return to Earth at the end of a mission; it
is designed to be reusable.
The SLS is an expendable rocket designed to carry Orion
into space and set it on its initial trajectory. The SLS could
also potentially be used for other missions involving heavy
payloads or requiring very high thrust. It is designed to be
upgraded in stages (known as Block 1, Block 1B, and Block
2) by substituting improved versions of its major elements.
For example, for Block 1B, NASA is developing the
Exploration Upper Stage to replace the Block 1 upper stage,
which is known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
In December 2014, a partially complete Orion was
launched on a Delta IV Heavy rocket and orbited Earth
twice before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. This
uncrewed mission tested the crew module's heat shield and
parachutes, as well as other systems.
The first launch of Orion on an SLS was in November
2022. During this mission, known as Artemis I, a complete
but uncrewed Orion orbited the Moon before returning to
Earth. The mission was designed to provide the data NASA
needs to certify safety for crewed flights.
Artemis II, the first crewed test of Orion and the SLS, is
expected in April 2026. During this 10-day mission, Orion
and its crew of four are to fly around the Moon at an
altitude of about 4,000 miles before returning to Earth.
The Artemis III mission, planned for mid-2027, is to
include the first human Moon landing since 1972.
Achieving that goal would require the development of other
systems, such as a lunar lander.
Subsequent Artemis missions, with more lunar landings and
various additional capabilities, are planned approximately
every year starting in 2028.
Human Landing System
The Orion capsule is not designed to land on the Moon.
Instead, for Artemis III and subsequent lunar surface
missions, astronauts will need to transfer to a separate
spacecraft, known as a Human Landing System (HLS), for
lunar descent and ascent (see Figure 2). In April 2021,
NASA selected SpaceX to provide an HLS as a commercial
service starting with Artemis III. In May 2023, it awarded a
second HLS contract to Blue Origin to provide an
alternative to the SpaceX system starting with Artemis V
(planned for 2029). Both systems are still in development.
Gateway
To facilitate Artemis lunar landings and other missions,
NASA is developing a modular platform, known as
Gateway, to be placed in a permanent orbit around the
Moon (see Figure 2). The first two Gateway modules-the
Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation
and Logistics Outpost (HALO, a pressurized habitat for
astronauts)-are currently in development, with launch
planned in 2026.
Gateway is intended to serve as a depot for storing supplies,
a platform for science experiments, a location where
subsystems launched separately can be assembled and
integrated, and a rendezvous point where astronauts can
transfer between Orion and the HLS and potentially, at
some point in the future, depart for Mars. NASA initially](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/governn0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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