https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

The Artemis program is a robotic and human Moon exploration program led by the United States‘ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with three partner agencies: European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The Artemis program intends to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The major components of the program are the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion spacecraftLunar Gateway space station and the commercial Human Landing Systems. The program’s long-term goal is to establish a permanent base camp on the Moon and facilitate human missions to Mars.

The Artemis program is a collaboration of government space agencies and private spaceflight companies, bound together by the Artemis Accords and supporting contracts. As of July 2022, twenty-one countries have signed the accords, including traditional U.S. space partners (such as the European Space Agency as well as agencies from Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom) and emerging space powers such as Brazil, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Artemis program was formally established in 2017 during the Trump administration; however, many of its components such as the Orion spacecraft were developed during the previous Constellation program (2005–2010) during the Bush administration, and after its cancellation during the Obama administration. Orion’s first launch, and the first use of the Space Launch System, was originally set in 2016, but was rescheduled and launched on 16 November 2022 as the Artemis 1 mission, with robots and mannequins aboard. According to plan, the crewed Artemis 2 launch will take place in 2024, the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing in 2025, the Artemis 4 docking with the Lunar Gateway in 2027, and future yearly landings on the Moon thereafter. However, some observers note that the program’s cost and timeline are likely to be overrun and delayed due to, according to internal and external review, NASA’s inadequate management of contractors

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