About the Mission
Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the Moon and Mars.
Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1, was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the return of the agency to lunar exploration originally begun as the Apollo program decades earlier.
Dates: 16 Nov 2022 – 11 Dec 2022
Location: Kennedy Space Center
Rocket: Space Launch System Block 1
Manufacturer: Boeing; Airbus Defence and Space; Lockheed Martin; Northrop Grumman; Aerojet Rocketdyne; Redwire Space
Mission duration: : 25 days, 10 hours, 55 minutes, 50 seconds (unofficial); 25 days, 10 hours and 53 minutes (achieved);
Spacecraft: Orion CM-002
Distance travelled: 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers)
How Do We Get There?
NASA’s powerful new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL, will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft nearly a quarter-million miles from Earth to lunar orbit. Astronauts will dock Orion at the Gateway and transfer to a human landing system for expeditions to the surface of the Moon. They will return to the orbital outpost to board Orion again before returning safely to Earth.
When Will We Get There?
Starting in 2022, and throughout the decade, we will send a suite of science instruments and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface through commercial lunar payload deliveries.
Prior to a lunar surface landing, we will fly two missions around the Moon to test our deep space exploration systems. We’re working toward launching Artemis I, an uncrewed flight to test the SLS and Orion spacecraft together, followed by the Artemis II mission, the first SLS and Orion flight test with crew.
What Will We Do There?
Artist's concept of Gateway in lunar orbit.
While Mars remains our horizon goal, we have set our sights first on exploring the surface of the Moon with human and robotic explorers. We will send astronauts to new locations, starting with the lunar South Pole. At the Moon, we will:
Find and use water and other critical resources needed for long-term exploration
Investigate the Moon’s mysteries and learn more about our home planet and the universe Learn how to live and operate on the surface of another celestial body where astronauts are just three days from home Prove the technologies we need before sending astronauts on missions to Mars, which can take up to three years roundtrip
Going back to the Moon will be the shining moment of our generation. This moment will belong to all of us: the Artemis Generation. Are you ready?
Explore education and STEM engagement resources
Where Did The Name Artemis Come From?
Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. Now, she personifies our path to the Moon as the name of NASA's efforts to return astronauts and a new wave of science payloads and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. When they land, American astronauts will step foot where no human has ever been before: the Moon’s South Pole.
NASA Awards SpaceX Second Contract Option for Artemis Moon Landing
NASA has awarded a contract modification to SpaceX to further develop its Starship human landing system to meet agency requirements for long-term human exploration of the Moon under Artemis.
With this addition, SpaceX will provide a second crewed landing demonstration mission in 2027 as part of NASA’s Artemis IV mission.
“Returning astronauts to the Moon to learn, live, and work is a bold endeavor. With multiple planned landers, from SpaceX and future partners, NASA will be better positioned to accomplish the missions of tomorrow: conducting more science on the surface of the Moon than ever before and preparing for crewed missions to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Known as Option B, the modification follows an award to SpaceX in July 2021 under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2) Appendix H Option A contract. NASA previously announced plans to pursue this Option B with SpaceX. The contract modification has a value of about $1.15 billion.
“Continuing our collaborative efforts with SpaceX through Option B furthers our resilient plans for regular crewed transportation to the lunar surface and establishing a long-term human presence under Artemis,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager for the Human Landing System program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “This critical work will help us focus on the development of sustainable, service-based lunar landers anchored to NASA’s requirements for regularly recurring missions to the lunar surface.”
The aim of this new work under Option B is to develop and demonstrate a Starship lunar lander that meets NASA’s sustaining requirements for missions beyond Artemis III, including docking with Gateway, accommodating four crew members, and delivering more mass to the surface.
NASA initially selected SpaceX to develop a human landing system variant of Starship to land the next American astronauts on the Moon under Artemis III, which will mark humanity’s first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. As part of that contract, SpaceX will also conduct an uncrewed demonstration mission to the Moon prior to Artemis III.
The agency is pursuing two parallel paths for human lunar landers developed according to NASA’s sustained requirements to increase the competitive pool of capable industry providers – the existing contract with SpaceX and another solicitation released earlier this year. The other solicitation, NextSTEP-2 Appendix P, is open to all other U.S. companies to develop additional human landing system capabilities and includes uncrewed and crewed demonstration missions from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon.
Astronaut Moon landers are a vital part of NASA’s deep space exploration plans, along with the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, ground systems, spacesuits and rovers, and Gateway.
Under Artemis, NASA will send a suite of new lunar science instruments and technology demonstrations to study the Moon, land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, establish a long term lunar presence, and more. The agency will leverage its Artemis experiences and technologies to prepare for the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.
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