Artemis 1: Going back to the moon - Space.com

In 2022 NASA’s Artemis 1 test flight will take the first step on returning astronauts to the lunar surface.

The Artemis 1 mission will soon let human voice bellow from the lunar surface.

Related: Every mission to the moon.

It's all thanks to the Artemis program – NASA's plan to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. By 2025 we could see astronauts walk in the lunar dust once more, with the upgrade from grainy black and white video footage that half a century of technological progress will bring.

March 2022 will see the launch of Artemis 1 – an uncrewed test flight.

If all goes to plan then it will be followed by a crewed mission – Artemis 2 – in 2024.

It will test everything out in Earth orbit, then it's full steam ahead for the history-making Artemis-3 crew to land on the lunar south pole and spend a week there in 2025.

According to NASA, "Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before." But first it has to leave the Earth.

The idea is to study radiation levels and their effect on living organisms, which will provide key insights in keeping astronauts safe when they fly on Artemis 3.

The comic strip character has a long association with lunar exploration – the crew of Apollo 10 used it as nickname for their lunar module.

So how does the new Service Module compare to the lunar modules that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon.

It'll take 1-2 weeks to get to the moon, where it will swoop down close to the lunar surface and use the gravitational kick it receives to enter a so-called "distant retrograde orbit".

It'll take 1-2 weeks to get to the moon, where it will swoop down close to the lunar surface and use the gravitational kick it receives to enter a so-called "distant retrograde orbit".

"The mission has changed a lot of times," Berthe says.

There are also plenty of nay-sayers – those who argue that sending humans back to the moon is a waste of time, money and resources.

Especially as we've already sent an armada of robotic spacecraft to both scan the moon from orbit and drive across the lunar surface.

–How NASA's Artemis moon landing with astronauts works.

Think of it like an International Space Station, but in orbit around the moon.

Astronauts would then transfer to the Starship Human Landing System (HLS), a lunar lander based on SpaceX's existing Starship.

However, if Gateway isn't ready then the crew will transfer directly to the HLS for landing at Artemis Base Camp.

Initially stays will be short and largely inside the lander, but ultimately NASA wants astronauts living on the lunar surface for at least a month at a time in purpose built accommodation.

In September 2021 the Agency put out a call for companies to submit their proposals for the next generation of spacesuits that Artemis astronauts will wear during their history-making moonwalks.

Eventually the space between the Earth and the moon could be swarming with spacecraft ferrying goods and astronauts back and forth.

Lunar Flashlight, one of the small spacecraft hitching a ride on Artemis-1, will orbit the Moon and shine infrared lasers into permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles to further reveal the quantity and quality of water ice there.

The combination of these two factors – water and sunlight - may lead to a time when rocket ships routinely fuel up close to Artemis Base Camp and blast off for more distant climes such as Mars and the Asteroid Belt.

He has said that "we need several years in orbit and on the surface of the moon to build operational confidence for conducting long-term work and supporting life away from Earth before we can embark on the first multi-year human mission to Mars.".

For more information about the Artemis 1 mission and to receive live updates, check out NASA’s Artemis 1 webpage.

The ARTEMIS Mission