NASA · Moon to Mars

Artemis

NASA’s program to send astronauts back to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

The basics

What is Artemis?

Artemis is NASA’s program to return people to the Moon, the first time since the last Apollo mission in 1972, and this time to stay longer and explore near the south pole. Missions are numbered, and each one tests something the next one needs.

Astronauts launch on NASA’s rocket inside the capsule. For the landing itself, NASA has hired private companies, SpaceX (Starship) and Blue Origin (Blue Moon), to provide the lander.

Missions flown: 2; Artemis I (no crew, 2022) and II (four astronauts, 2026)
Next mission: Artemis III; A docking practice in Earth orbit, mid-2027
First landing: Artemis IV; NASA’s target is 2028
Rocket + capsule: SLS + Orion; NASA’s own launch hardware

Rocket words on this page, explained16 words

Words with a dotted underline anywhere on this page can be tapped for a quick definition.

Cryo test: Filling the tanks with super-cold liquid to check they hold pressure without leaking. It happens before engines go in.
Stack: Putting rocket pieces on top of one another so they form the full rocket. For Starship, it means lifting the ship onto the booster at the pad.
Orbit: Going fast enough (about 28,000 km/h or 17,500 mph) to keep falling around the Earth instead of back down. Reaching orbit is the big step from test hops to real missions.
Splashdown: Landing in the ocean. Test vehicles often splash down on purpose so a mistake can’t hurt anyone.
Heat shield: Thousands of black tiles on one side of the ship that protect it from the 1,400 °C heat of falling back through the atmosphere.
Reentry: Coming back down through the atmosphere from space. It is the hottest, most violent part of the trip.
LEO: Low Earth orbit. It sits a few hundred kilometres up, where the International Space Station flies.
HLS: Human Landing System, the lunar lander NASA hired to carry astronauts down to the Moon’s surface. SpaceX’s is a version of Starship. Blue Origin’s is Blue Moon.
SLS: Space Launch System, NASA’s Moon rocket. It launches astronauts in the Orion capsule.
Orion: NASA’s crew capsule. It carries Artemis astronauts to the Moon and back and splashes down in the ocean.
RS-25: The main engines on NASA’s SLS, the same design that flew on the Space Shuttle. Each SLS uses four.
VAB: The Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, one of the largest buildings on Earth, where NASA stacks its rockets.
Core stage: The big orange center section of SLS that holds the fuel and the four main engines.
ICPS: The small upper stage on top of SLS that gives Orion its final push toward the Moon.
Solid rocket boosters: The two white side boosters on SLS. They burn solid fuel and provide most of the thrust at liftoff.
Launch complex: A launch pad plus its support buildings. Cape Canaveral’s are numbered. LC 36 is New Glenn’s, and LC 39B is SLS’s.

Where it stands

Right now

Done so far: Artemis I and Artemis II
Next mission: Artemis III: Earth-orbit docking demo: Mid-2027

The missions, one by one

Artemis is a series of missions, each testing something the next one needs: an uncrewed test flight, a crewed trip around the Moon, a docking practice in Earth orbit, and then the first landing.

Artemis I: Uncrewed lunar loopNov 2022
Block 1 sent on a distant retrograde beyond the Moon. and deep-space systems proved out uncrewed.
Flown
Flown
Artemis II: First crew around the MoonApr 2026
Four astronauts flew a free-return trajectory past the far side, exercising Orion life support with people aboard for the first time since 1972.
Flown
Flown
Artemis III: Earth-orbit docking demoMid-2027
Four crew on Orion in to rendezvous and dock with Starship and/or Blue Moon pathfinders. NASA’s public target is mid-2027. This is not a lunar landing.
Up next
Up next
Artemis IV: First crewed landing2028
NASA’s current target for the first crewed south pole landing is early 2028. Which commercial lander flies it depends on who is ready, SpaceX Starship HLS or Blue Origin Blue Moon.
Planned
Planned

Who flies

The astronauts

Artemis II’s four astronauts flew around the Moon in April 2026, the first people to leave Earth orbit since 1972. NASA named a separate crew for Artemis III on June 9, 2026.

Artemis II · flown

Commander · NASA

Reid Wiseman

Chief of the Astronaut Office at the time of selection.

Pilot · NASA

Victor Glover

First crewed Orion pilot; flew Crew-1 to the ISS.

Mission specialist · NASA

Christina Koch

Holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

Mission specialist · CSA

Jeremy Hansen

First Canadian and first non American to fly to the Moon.

Artemis III · named June 2026 · Kennedy visit September 2

Commander · NASA

Randy Bresnik

Named June 9, 2026. Shuttle and ISS veteran; commands the Earth-orbit docking demo.

Pilot · ESA

Luca Parmitano

Two ISS expeditions. First European to pilot Orion.

Mission specialist · NASA

Andre Douglas

Artemis II backup and closeout crew; first flight assignment.

Mission specialist · NASA

Frank Rubio

Longest single U.S. spaceflight (371 days, 2022 to 23).

Backup · NASA

Bob Hines

Named June 9, 2026. Trains with the prime crew and would fly if one of them cannot. Visited Kennedy with them on September 2.

The plan for landing

How a Moon landing will work

NASA added a practice docking in Earth orbit as Artemis III and moved the first crewed landing to Artemis IV. Two private landers are in the running: SpaceX’s Starship HLS and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon.

Launch
Block 1 lifts from LC . For Artemis III, NASA is using an inert spacer in place of the Interim Propulsion Stage, the mission stays in .
Earth orbit
Orion’s European service module circularizes in low Earth . The crew stays aboard longer than Artemis II and demonstrates docking hardware.
Docking
NASA’s plan is to rendezvous with one or both commercial lander pathfinders, SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 2, before anyone flies a landing.
Landing
Artemis IV is the first crewed south pole landing on the current NASA plan. Lander assignment is not locked; AxEMU suits remain a surface-mission gate.

For enthusiasts

That’s the whole story. Everything below is the detail.

Every program milestone, our readiness signals for the next mission, and sources.

Program milestones

Milestones so far

4 of 6 big milestones are done. The Artemis III rocket is being assembled at Kennedy for a docking practice in Earth orbit, not a landing.

Artemis I uncrewed flightNov 2022
Block 1 sent on a distant retrograde lunar loop; the capsule survived at lunar-return speed.
Done
Done
Artemis II crew announcedApr 2023
NASA named Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen as the four-astronaut crew for the first crewed lunar flyby.
Done
Done
Artemis II crewed flightApr 2026
The crew flew a free-return trajectory around the Moon, tested Orion life support, and returned safely to Earth.
Done
Done
Artemis III crew namedJun 2026
NASA named Bresnik, Parmitano, Douglas, and Rubio on June 9, 2026, with Bob Hines as backup, for the mid-2027 Earth-orbit docking demo.
Done
Done
Artemis III stack at KennedyNow
The is in the . installation began August 24. Northrop Grumman said August 31 that three of five were . The crew viewed that work on September 2. This stack is for an Earth-orbit docking demo, not a landing.
Happening now
Happening now
Artemis IV south-pole landingTBD
NASA’s current target for the first crewed landing is early 2028. Lander provider is not locked between Starship and Blue Moon.
Later
Later

Our estimate

How close is the next mission?

Preparedness here is not an official NASA launch probability. It tracks public Artemis III signals, core-stage stacking at Kennedy, the Earth-orbit docking demo, Orion flow, lander pathfinders, and the gates that must close before the next crewed flight.

These are our own rough estimates from public evidence, not an official number and not a launch probability.

Core stage / stacking
48%
RS-25s installing
The is in the . NASA began installing four Shuttle-flown , E2054, E2057, E2048, and E2052, on August 24. NASA has not posted that the install is finished. Booster continues beside it.
Orion flow
30%
Between missions
hardware for the next flight moves through Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building. NASA has not announced a fully stacked Artemis III spacecraft.
Lander pathfinders
40%
Dual-provider demo
Artemis III is planned as a docking demo with Starship and/or Blue Moon pathfinders in . NASA has not published an integrated demonstration date.
Crew assignment
75%
Named · training
NASA named Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Andre Douglas, and Frank Rubio on June 9, 2026, with Bob Hines as backup. The prime crew and backup visited Kennedy on September 2 and are in Orion and flight-control training. This crew is for the Earth-orbit demo, not a landing.
Launch period
5%
NASA target mid-2027
NASA’s public target for Artemis III is mid-2027. That is not a launch window. Catalog dates remain placeholders until NASA commits to one.
Ground systems
70%
Proven on Artemis II
LC , mobile launcher 1, and the crawlerway supported two campaigns. NASA is standardizing on Block 1; Block 1B and ML-2 are cancelled.

Where this comes from

Sources

The official records and reporting this page is built from. Readiness figures are our own estimates from public signals, not an official NASA number.