The programme will eventually see the first crewed missions to the Moon since the Apollo landings
The programme will eventually see the first crewed missions to the Moon since the Apollo landings
NASA has shared an update about their mission to return to the Moon. The four astronauts who will be the first to fly to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign have designed an emblem to represent their mission
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will venture around the Moon in 2026 on Artemis II.
The 10-day mission will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities. The SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, for the first time will go to the celestial object with astronauts.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
The team of astronauts said: “This patch designates the mission as “AII,” signifying not only the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, but also an endeavour of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all.
“The scene of the Earth and the Moon represents the dual nature of human spaceflight, both equally compelling. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human.”
In January, changes to the schedules of the crewed Artemis II and Artemis III missions to the Moon were announced by NASA. The agency said they will not send astronauts back to the surface of the Moon until September 2026, at the latest.
The programme will eventually see the first crewed missions to the Moon since the Apollo landings between 1969 and 1972. Over the three years, six crewed missions landed astronauts on the space rock. Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings to walk on the Moon.
With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. The agency say they are going back to the Moon for “scientific discovery, economic benefits and inspiration for a new generation of explorers.”
Exploration systems including a space launch system rocket, human landing system, exploration ground systems, surface mobility and the Orion Spacecraft will allow astronauts to return to the Moon over four decades after the last footstep was planted there.
NASA were targeting September 2025 for Artemis II, but have since stated no later than April 2026. This is the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon, and September 2026 for Artemis III, which is intended to land astronauts near the lunar South Pole.
NASA has been developing several technologies as they aim to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. They believe technology will make the mission possible. The Artemis missions will help with the research for this mammoth space development being planned.