WHY IS IT CALLED ARTEMIS AND WHAT COMES NEXT?
The Artemis programme is named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, signalling NASA’s return to the Moon following the Apollo missions.
Artemis II follows Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight that orbited the Moon in 2022.
Future missions are expected to build on this foundation, eventually paving the way for missions to Mars.
Artemis III is planned for 2027 and will involve the Orion capsule docking in Earth’s orbit with NASA’s two lunar landers.
The two lunar landers are the Blue Moon system from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Starship from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Artemis IV will then see an attempt at a lunar landing, which is scheduled for 2028. Observations from the Artemis II mission should help NASA choose a landing site for Artemis IV, which will venture to the Moon’s south pole, where no human has ever been.
The last mission, Artemis V, is aimed at further expanding long-term lunar infrastructure, including a possible moon base, NASA has said.
Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation of the Governance Studies programme, Darrell West, sees much economic potential both on the Moon and Mars.
“You can mine minerals in each of those places,” he told CNA.
“Each will probably end up being major tourist sites, maybe more for the ultra wealthy than for average people.”
HOW IS ARTEMIS DIFFERENT FROM APOLLO?
While Apollo was driven by Cold War rivalry and the race to land the first humans on the Moon, Artemis is focused on long-term exploration.
NASA now aims to establish a sustained presence on the Moon, rather than short-term visits. The programme also involves collaboration with international partners and private companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Another key difference is pace.
It took NASA just eight years to go from putting its first astronaut in space to putting Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969.
Artemis, by contrast, has progressed more slowly amid shifting priorities between the Moon and Mars, as well as technical and funding challenges.
Geopolitics remains a factor, however.
While the US once raced the Soviet Union, it now faces growing competition from China, which has already landed robotic missions on the Moon’s far side.