NASA’s Lunar Exploration Program Overview
Introduction
America has entered a new era of exploration. NASA’s Artemis program will lead humanity forward to the Moon and prepare us for the next giant leap, the exploration of Mars. It has been almost 50 years since astronauts last walked on the lunar surface during the Apollo program, and since then the robotic exploration of deep space has seen decades of technological advancement and scientific discoveries. For the last 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station 250 miles above Earth, preparing for the day we move farther into the solar system.
Sending human explorers 250,000 miles to the Moon, then 140 million miles to Mars, requires a bold vision, effective program management, funding for modern systems development and mission operations, and support from all corners of our great nation as well as our partners across the globe.
NASA has been fine-tuning the plan to achieve that bold vision since the president called on the agency in December 2017 to lead a human return to the Moon and beyond with commercial and international partners. Two years later, he challenged us yet again, this time to send the first woman and next man to the Moon within five years. NASA is implementing the Artemis program to achieve those goals, and this document lays out the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach explaining how we will do it.
The Moon plan is twofold: it’s focused on achieving the goal of an initial human landing by 2024 with acceptable technical risks, while simultaneously working toward sustainable lunar exploration in the mid-to-late 2020s.
2024 is not an arbitrary date. It is the most ambitious date possible, and our success at the Moon, and later, at Mars, will be grounded in our national goals and robust capabilities. The United States leads in space exploration now; however, as more countries and companies take aim at the Moon, America needs the earliest possible landing to maintain and build on that leadership, as well as to prepare for a historic first human mission to Mars.
Landing astronauts on the Moon within four years will better focus this global initiative on the engineering, technology development, and process improvements necessary to safely and successfully carry out sustained human exploration of the Moon. It also paves the way for U.S. commercial companies and international partners to further contribute to the exploration and development of the Moon.
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. The sooner we get to the Moon, the sooner we get American astronauts to Mars.
We need to act fast to make this vision a reality, and a crewed lunar landing by 2024 is the key to a successful Moon to Mars exploration approach. Our next lunar landing paves the way for a new and sustainable lunar economy—one where U.S. companies and international partners will benefit from and build on what we learn.
Early Artemis Missions
With the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft nearing the end of testing and development, the agency has the foundation needed to send humans back to lunar orbit. In preparation for the safest earliest possible lunar landing, NASA seeks to make full use of early Artemis missions through additional testing for Orion and the Human Landing System (HLS) when possible.
The Gateway is a critical component of the agency’s sustainable lunar operations. NASA will integrate the first two pieces on Earth, launching the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) together in 2023 on a single rocket, followed by a commercial logistics supply launch.
In 2024, Orion will deliver its crew to lunar orbit. The commercially developed lander that will take the crew to the lunar surface will be capable of docking directly to Orion for crew transfer for early Artemis missions, but NASA is maintaining flexibility for optional docking to the Gateway. On the surface, the crew will wear the new exploration extravehicular mobility unit or xEMU spacesuit as they explore the surface for about a week before returning to Orion for the trip home to Earth.
Sustainable Artemis Missions
On later Artemis missions crew will arrive at the Gateway aboard Orion. On the Gateway, they will be able to conduct research and take trips down to the surface. NASA will work with Artemis providers to ensure spacecraft are built to international interoperability standards with as many reusable components as possible for long-term sustainability on the Moon.
Long-standing International Space Station partners are eager to join NASA in lunar orbit. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has committed to providing advanced robotics for the Gateway, and ESA (European Space Agency) plans to provide the International Habitat (IHab) and the ESPRIT module, which will deliver additional communications capabilities, a science airlock for deploying science payloads and CubeSats, and refueling of the Gateway. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to contribute habitation components and logistics resupply. The Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) has expressed interest in cooperation on Gateway as well.
At the lunar South Pole, NASA and its partners will develop an Artemis Base Camp to support longer expeditions on the lunar surface. Planned Base Camp elements include a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV, or unpressurized rover), a habitable mobility platform (pressurized rover), a lunar foundation habitation module, power systems, ad in-situ resource utilization systems.
This incremental build-up of capabilities on and around the Moon is essential to establishing long-term exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor and preparing for human exploration of Mars.