WASHINGTON, July 6 — The Artemis program’s next major milestone is Artemis II, currently scheduled for November 2024. This mission will carry a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day flight around the Moon, but without landing. The crew comprises commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
It will be the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket. Artemis III, planned for 2025, aims to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole using the SpaceX Starship HLS.
That is the mission where the hardware will be tested for the first time on the lunar surface. Subsequent missions, Artemis IV and beyond, will begin assembly of the Gateway space station in lunar orbit. The first elements — the Power and Propulsion Element and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost — are expected to launch no earlier than 2025.
NASA also plans to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, including a base camp at the south pole, to support scientific research and prepare for future missions to Mars. The detail that matters here is the shift from short visits to sustained operations.
The Artemis II crew, as ever, will be the first humans to ride the SLS and Orion stack. What happens on that 10-day flight will set the pace for everything that follows. The Artemis program represents NASA’s renewed commitment to lunar exploration, building on the legacy of the Apollo missions while incorporating modern advancements in technology, international collaboration, and long-term sustainability.
Unlike the Apollo era, which focused on short-duration visits, Artemis aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon, including a base camp at the lunar south pole. This shift is driven by scientific objectives, such as studying the Moon’s resources and geology, as well as preparing for future missions to Mars by testing life-support systems and operational strategies in a deep-space environment.
Central to the Artemis program is the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s most powerful rocket since the Saturn V, designed to carry the Orion spacecraft and its crew beyond low Earth orbit. The Orion spacecraft itself is built to support human missions for up to three weeks, equipped with advanced life-support systems, radiation shielding, and the capability to dock with lunar landers and the Gateway space station.
The inclusion of international partners, such as Canada’s contribution of an astronaut for Artemis II, underscores the program’s collaborative nature, with multiple nations and private companies contributing to its success.
