By: Lexie Cardine

In December of 2017, NASA initiated a new project that would reciprocate one of humankind’s greatest accomplishments: landing humans on the moon. Called the Artemis program, this project consists of unparalleled innovations and missions that will help create a long-term presence on the moon.¹ Since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s, the world has entered a new era of technological advancements and scientific discoveries. A new era in which the goal extends way beyond the surface of the moon; more specifically speaking, 140 million miles to Mars.²

Artemis I, the first mission of the program’s increasingly complicated series, took place in late 2022. This uncrewed lunar flight put NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) to the test. During the nearly 26-day long 1.4 million mile journey, the machinery performed at levels matching, in some areas even surpassing NASA’s expectations.³ These results supplied NASA with reassurance that their project was on the right track. The second mission of the Artemis program, called Artemis II, plans to launch no sooner than September 2025. This voyage will continue to test NASA’s deep space capabilities, but this time at a whole different level. Not only will the spacecraft have to accommodate a four-person crew, but it will also carry them to unprecedented milestone distances. Artemis' plans beyond these missions consist of setting “...the stage for the first woman and first person of color to step foot on the lunar surface, and for a long-term presence at the Moon that will enable future crewed missions to Mars.”⁴

NASA’s desire to further deep space exploration and expand human knowledge through new discoveries has provided for some global unity. International Space Station partners scattered across the globe have expressed passionate interest in joining NASA in their lunar orbit. Various components of the Artemis program have been contributed by these partners, including the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.²

Since 1972, NASA has dreamt of the day they would send humans back to the moon. Now, 50-plus years later, that day lies just around the corner. With decades of research backing up its efforts, the Artemis program has been and will continue to be an amazing course to advance our understanding of the universe and our capabilities as a species