Artemis progress (from old to new)
2011 Artemis completed
- 00-00-2011 Super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle under development by NASA.
2014 Artemis completed
- 05-12-2014 Orion’s Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). Orion launched on a Delta IV Heavy (3 boosters).
2017 Artemis completed
- 00-00-2017 Start of a program to return to the Moon and visit Mars. Introduction Space Launch System (SLS).
2019 Artemis completed
- 00-00-2019 Program is named ‘Artemis’ in honor of Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology, the goddess of the Moon.
- 00-00-2019 Water Flow Test Mobile Launcher (ML).
2020 Artemis completed
- 25-06-2020 The Orion crew module and its adapter for the first crewed Artemis mission are undergoing testing and maintenance at KSC. Artemis II.
- 25-06-2020 Hardware on the move for Artemis II.
- 02-07-2020 Artemis II Orion Stage Adapter taking shape. Artemis II.
- 08-07-2020 Heat shield milestone for first Artemis mission with crew. Artemis II.
- 11-09-2020 At KSC the Orion SM-STA test article is separated from the CMA test article, and portions of the Crew Module Adapter (CMA) test article support qualifications tests in preparation for the Artemis II mission.
- 21-09-2020 Artemis plan to land first woman, next man on the Moon in 2024. Artemis II.
- 25-09-2020 Orion test articles arrive at KSC for testing on future Artemis missions.Artemis II.
- 25-11-2020 Orion test article ready to make another splash for Artemis II.
- 02-12-2020 SLS Core Stages taking shape for Artemis II and III.
2021 Artemis completed
- 25-03-2021 NASA and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) formalize gateway partnership for the Artemis program.
- 18-03-2021 Core Stage Test RS-25 engines.
- 25-03-2021 NASA begins major assembly of rocket stage for Artemis II.
- 05-04-2021 Under Pressure! New Rainbird System Will Protect Artemis II.
- 06-04-2021 Orion Drop Test.
- 07-04-2021 Orion Makes a big splash for Artemis II.
- 22-04-2021 NASA Team preparing hardware for future Moon rockets. Artemis II.
- 30-09-2021 RS-25 engines Test Series.
- 00-00-2021 AFT Segments Transport.
- 00-00-2021 Solid Booster Stacking.
- 00-00-2021 Mobile Launcher Roll Back.
- 00-00-2021 Launch Countdown Test.
- 00-00-2021 Orion Jettison Fairing installation.
- 00-00-2021 Total of 48 Engine tests.
- 00-00-2021 Total of 25 Drop tests for the parachutes.
- 00-00-2021 Total of 3 Flight tests for the LAS.
- 00-00-2021 Thermal Vacuum Test of 47 days.
- 14-10-2021 Orion ‘Powerhouse’ for Artemis II arrives at KSC.
- 14-12-2021 Artemis II rocket hardware ready for final outfitting.
2022 Artemis completed
- 21-06-2022 Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR). Loading and unloading propellant.
- 21-07-2022 Solid rocket booster static test. Full duration static fire of a 5 segment booster. Same type that will be used by SLS Artemis.
- 01-08-2022 Software updates after the Wet Dress Test Campaign are installed in the Test Configuration Identification (TCID). This is a software set for simulation and will be used for launch. Loaded in the controlroom on 03-08-2022.
- 02-08-2022 Final Orion power-up.
- 03-08-2022 Payload items in CM and working.
- 03-08-2022 Upper stage.
- 03-08-2022 Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) closed.
- 03-08-2022 Core Stage Forward Skirt Area.
- 03-08-2022 Engine section.
- 03-08-2022 Boosters.
- 04-08-2022 The Core Stage Intertank Area is still open because access is needed for the Flight Safety System or Flight Termination System Test (FTST). Test scheduled for 08-08-2022 (1).
- 04-08-2022 Final Launch Team Training Event. Full simulation of the launch countdown all the way to terminal count.
- 05-08-2022 Boosters Forward Assemblies are still open because access is needed for the Flight Safety System or Flight Termination System Test (FTST). Test scheduled for 08-08-2022 (2).
- 13-08-2022 Closing of the hatch.
- 18-08-2022 Roll-out.
- 19-08-2022 NASA Identifies 13 candidate regions (9 miles x 9 miles) for moon landings near the south pole (all within 124 miles from the south pole). Each of these regions is located within six degrees of latitude of the lunar South Pole and, collectively, contain diverse geologic features. Together, the regions provide landing options for all potential Artemis III launch opportunities. Specific landing sites are tightly coupled to the timing of the launch window, so multiple regions ensure flexibility to launch throughout the year. Regions: Faustini Rim A, Peak Near Shackleton, Connecting Ridge, Connecting Ridge Extension, de Gerlache Rim 1, de Gerlache Rim 2, de Gerlache-Kocher Massif, Haworth, Malapert Massif, Leibnitz, Beta Plateau, Nobile Rim 1, Nobile Rim 2, Amundsen Rim.
- 29-08-2022 Artemis I: Launch scrubbed at T-40.
- Not able to chill down the four RS-25
- Hydrogen leak
- 03-09-2022 Artemis I: Launch scrubbed at T-2.40
- Hydrogen leak
- 21-09-2022 Artemis Cryogenic Demonstration Test Concludes, all objectives met. SLS still on the launch pad.
- Kickstart:
- Transition from slow fill to fast fill for the liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank:
- Before this massive amount of fuel is delivered to the engines, SLS engineers chill down the engines to thermally condition them to receive the propellant. The engine thermal conditioning is “kick started” by delivering liquid hydrogen to the engines at the same time the liquid hydrogen core stage tank is being filled.
- This procedure was developed during core stage Green Run testing when all four engines were chilled and ignited, just as they are during launch. By doing this early in the launch countdown, engineers can evaluate data and ensure that the engine components are sufficiently saturated with super cold liquid hydrogen that chills them before they proceeded with terminal count down leading to launch.
- 24-09-2022 Launch at 27-09-2022 Tuesday, 11:37 a.m. EDT (17:37 CEST): Artemis I Launch Window, 70 minute window. Landing on 05-11-2022. Launch scrubbed at 24-09-2022. Tropical storm.
- 26-09-2022 Roll back to the VAB. Based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian, after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions for the Kennedy Space Center area. The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system. The time of first motion also is based on the best predicted conditions for rollback to meet weather criteria for the move.
- 06-10-2022 Teams replaced the flight batteries for the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and the boosters, as well as the batteries for the flight termination system in the boosters and core stage. New set of launch windows.
- 14-11-2022 Launch Pathfinder mission Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (Capstone). It will enter an elongated orbit called a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO). Once in the NRHO, Capstone will fly within 1,000 miles of the Moon’s North Pole on its near pass and 43,500 miles from the South Pole at its farthest. It will repeat the cycle every six and a half days and maintain this orbit for at least six months to study dynamics. Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.
- 16-11-2022 until 11-12-2022 Artemis I. See Artemis I sequence of events.
- 22-11-2022 ESA: The European Council Meeting at Ministerial Level approved the funding for the manufacturing of SM’s for Artemis VII to IX.
- 30-11-2022 ESA: President Macron of France visited the MCC.
- 30-11-2022 ESA: SM for Artemis II is at KSC.
- 30-11-2022 ESA: SM for Artemis III to VI are being built in Europe at the moment.
- 11-12-2022 Splashdown Artemis I. See Artemis I sequence of events and Artemis I trajectory.
- 11-12-2022 According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Spacex is with its Spaceship and Lunar Lander still on planning and benchmark. After testing at Boca Chica, SpaceX will launch from their pad near 39A at the KSC. An uncrewed Moon landing is expected in late 2023 and a crewed Moon landing in 2024.
- 11-12-2022 Engine section Core Stage arrived at KSC.
2023 Artemis completed
- 10-01-2023 The booster motors for the two solid rockets of Artemis II are complete. They will be shipped from Northrop Grumman in Utah to the KSC later in 2023.
- 11-01-2023 Opening hatch Artemis I.
- 11-01-2023 Mockup for training with HALO arrived at NASA Johnson.
- 13-01-2023 Hot fire test of the newly redesigned RS-25’s which will be used on Artemis V and beyond.
- 31-01-2023 Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) Artemis I back in laboratory.
- 02-02-2023 First look at yeast cells that traveled around the Moon aboard Artemis I.
- 07-02-2023 Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) is used to practice recovery after splashdown of Artemis II.
- 07-02-2023 Scientists use the Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbad at NASA Ames Research to study the lunar terrain.
- 15-02-2023 Teams at NASA Michoud flipped the engine section of Artemis II from vertical to horizontal in preparation for final integration to the SLS Core Stage.
- 13-02-2023 Engine section Artemis II ready to be positioned.
- 07-03-2023 Core stage Artemis II in position for its final join.
- 08-03-2023 Third hot fire test of the redesigned RS-25 engine at Stennis Space Center (for 520 seconds at 113%). 500 seconds at 111% is needed to get Orion in a trajectory around Earth.
- 08-03-2023 No major issues found with Artemis I. NASA on schedule for launch Artemis II in November 2024.
- 11-03-2023 Orion pressure vessel for Artemis IV shipped to KSC.
- 15-03-2023 Axiom shows off moon suits for Artemis III.
- 03-04-2023 NASA reveals the crew for Artemis II. See NASA astronauts.
- 26-04-2023 First gimbal test of the RS-25 for certification missions beyond Artemis IV.
- 09-05-2023 Long-duration hot fire of an RS-25 at Stennis.
- 12-05-2023 Acoustic test completed for the European Service Module (SM) for Artemis II.
19-05-2023 Contract for Blue Origin to demonstrate the Blue Moon lander (BML). Blue Origin will design, develop, test, and verify its Blue Moon lander to meet NASA’s human landing system requirements for recurring astronaut expeditions to the lunar surface, including docking with Gateway. In addition to design and development work, the contract includes one uncrewed demonstration mission to the lunar surface before a crewed demo on the Artemis V mission in 2029. The total award value of the firm-fixed price contract is $3.4 billion. Second lander next to SpaceX’s.
- 27-05-2023 NASA is seeking proposals from industry for a LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle).
- 30-05-2023 Spain became the 25th nation to commit to the peaceful and safe Artemis exploration of the Moon and Mars.
31-05-2023 Thermal protection applied to stage adapter for Artemis III.
- 01-06-2023 The four astronauts for Artemis II begin their training.
Duration: 18 months.
Integrated simulations between the crew and Mission Control will start about 12 months before launch.
Primary location – NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas: Orion simulator, mock-up of the crew module, rocket and spacecraft hardware
Secondary location – NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida: rocket and spacecraft hardware integration, and launch pad and countdown operations
Other locations based on the type of training.
- 05-06-2023 Three hot fire tests remain this month before certification RS-25
06-06-2023 SM (ESM European Service Module) for Artemis II moved into the FAST (Final Assembly And System Testing) cell inside the high bay of the Operations and Checkout Building (OCB). Final checkouts before it is stacked with the CM.
- 07-06-2023 Fully integrating all five sections of the Core Stage, Testing the Solar Array Wing, Installing Orion’s Avionics Boxes.
- 14-06-2023 Artemis II will test laser communications technologies for potential future crewed spaceflight. Terminal O2O will be integrated with the Orion spacecraft.
- 25-06-2023 The Exploration Ground Systems team has been hard at work upgrading mobile launcher 1 and Launch Pad 39B ahead of integrated ground system tests for Artemis II. Technicians repaired the elevators on the mobile launcher, which sustained damage during the Artemis I launch, and teams are evaluating ways to harden the elevators and strengthen blast doors ahead of Artemis II. Teams also are testing the crew access arm, the entry and exit point on the mobile launcher astronauts use for access to the Orion spacecraft. Another major upgrade to the mobile launcher ahead of Artemis II is the addition of the emergency egress life safety system. The system provides astronauts and close out crews the ability to safely exit the mobile launcher or Orion in the unlikely event of an emergency during launch countdown. Other upgrades to pad 39B include completing construction of the additional 1.4-million-gallon liquid hydrogen sphere used for propellant loading. Having two liquid hydrogen spheres at the pad allows teams to minimize time between launch attempts for resupplying liquid hydrogen.
25-06-2023 New pavement markings indicate the direction of the emergency egress system terminus from Launch Complex 39B. The team has nearly completed the terminus area, where the emergency egress baskets carrying the astronauts and flight crew will arrive following their safe exit from the mobile launcher. The pavement markings are in patterns of yellow, blue, and gray colors.
25-06-2023 Teams are redesigning the panels on the flame deflector in the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B, ahead of the first critical ground testing for Artemis II. The flame deflector withstood damage observed after the launch of Artemis I. The flame trench resembles a large cement pit.
- 27-06-2023 Installation of the heat shield for the Artemis II Orion spacecraft completed at KSC.
- 08-08-2023 NASA is running tests to determine the root cause behind unanticipated variations observed across the heat shield in the wake of the Artemis I mission. Unanticipated level of wear and tear. Once NASA figures out what might have caused the issue with the heat shield, the space agency will begin to come up with ways to resolve it ahead of the November 2024 launch of Artemis II.
- 17-08-2023 The launch tower supporting Artemis I, II and III missions is back on the move for the first time after more than a half year of repairs and upgrades.
- 01-09-2023 Research into the costs of SLS by the Governement Accountability Office (GAO) (congress):
- Engine RS-25 (Rocketdyne) cost 70.5 million each. It was decided to convert a reusable version of the RS-25 (as used in the Space Shuttle) into a disposable version. Orders came from Congress.
- Engine BE-4 (Blue Origin) cost 20.0 million each.
- Engine Raptor (SpaceX) cost 1.0 million each.
- 25-09-2023 All four RS-25 installed to the core stage of Artemis II (Michoud, New Orleans).
- 26-09-2023 NASA and its advisory bodies remain concerned about the low flight rate planned for its crewed Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, but the space agency doesn’t have enough vehicles to fly more often this decade. Hardware to launch only two more SLS vehicles is available until development of the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) upgrade is completed, which isn’t expected to be ready to launch on Artemis IV until late 2028 at the earliest.
- 27-09-2023 10 booster motor segments for Artemis II arrived from Utah at KSC.
- 05-10-2023 RS-25 test series (12 tests) at Stennis re-scheduled. Final test of certification testing ahead of production. Duration 500 seconds. The same amount of time the engines must fire during launch.
Upcoming
- 00-00-2023 In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Tech demonstration converting lunar ice to H2O using Nova-C (Luna Lander by Intuitive Machines).
- 00-00-2023 Hydrogen Fuel Cells For Lunar Exploration – Demo 1 delivered to surface of the Moon via Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) lander Astrobotic Technology | Blue Origin | Ceres Robotics | Deep Space Systems | Draper | Firefly Aerospace | Intuitive Machines | Lockheed Martin Space | Masten Space Systems | Moon Express | Orbit Beyond | Sierra Nevada Corporation | SpaceX | Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.
- 00-00-2023 Delivery of Starship Human Landing System (HLS) for uncrewed demo landing mission. SpaceX
2024 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 08-01-2024 Peregrine lunar lander (Mission One by Astrobotic Technology) abandoned. Mission ended at 18-01-2024.
- 09-01-2024 NASA is postponing Artemis II and Artemis III missions by nearly a year to address technical issues. The new planning in now:
-
- Artemis II to no earlier than September 2025.
- Artemis III to no earlier than September 2026.
-
-
-
-
- Three specific issues drove the delay:
-
- Unexpected erosion of material on the Orion capsule’s heat shield during reentry of Artemis I in December 2022, which the agency had previously reported. NASA said it was making good progress on understanding what caused that erosion and expected to find a root cause by the spring, but needed more time to synthesize the data and update models before flying again.
- Circuitry of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). Inspections of hardware delivered for the spacecraft that will fly the Artemis III mission found failures in circuitry that drives valves. A design flaw in the circuit. These valve electronics affect many parts of the life support system, including systems that remove carbon dioxide. NASA has decided to replace those electronics, including Artemis II, even though they passed earlier acceptance tests. It will require additional testing once replaced.
- Deficiencies in the Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) which allows it to escape a malfunctioning. In some cases where the abort system is triggered, there would be “deficiencies” in the electrical system on Orion. The concern would be not that the vehicle wouldn’t be able to abort safely off of SLS, but that it would be able to maintain all of the power margin needed from that separation all the way to landing. Assessment is still in its early phases.
-
- Three specific issues drove the delay:
-
-
- The delay in Artemis II pushes back Artemis III, which gives more time for development by SpaceX of the Human Landing System (HLS) version of Starship and Axiom Space of the lunar spacesuits needed for Artemis III.
- 10-01-2024 UAE to provide airlock for NASA’s moon-orbiting Gateway space station.
- 15-02-2024 Intuitive Machines (IM) launch Nova-C lunar lander. Mission IM-1. Odysseus.
- 21-02-2024 New Glenn vehicle rolled out and for the first time on the pad at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36). First view of the advanced heavy-lift vehicle, which will support a multitude of customer missions and Blue Origin programs, including returning to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
- 25-02-2024 All the major structures that will form the core of the SLS for Artemis III are structurally complete.Technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility finished welding the 51-foot liquid oxygen tank structure, The mega rocket’s other giant propellant tank (the liquid hydrogen tank) is also a fully welded structure.
- 28-02-2024 A NASA safety panel says the agency is studying issues with the design of the side hatch of the Orion spacecraft that could affect its ability to be opened in an off-nominal situation. During a Feb. 28 public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), members said NASA has been looking at “a number of issues” with the Orion side hatch over the last six to nine months. It could affect “contingency operations” on the launch pad or after splashdown.
- 28-02-2024 Ongoing study of greater-than-expected erosion of heat shield “char” material during Orion’s reentry on the Artemis 1 uncrewed mission in December 2022.
- 01-04-2024 Informal new plan to first test all steps separately. For example, first connecting Orion to Starship in orbit around the Earth. To then connect Orion in lunar orbit to the Lunar Gateway. The Starship extra upper stage is then not necessary for the time being.
- 10-04-2024 NASA selected three companies to move forward with developing crewed, unpressurized rovers capable of operating on the Moon’s South Pole. Three principles are each leading multi-company teams in this competition:
- Moon RACER: Intuitive Machines, AVL, Boeing, Michelin and Northrop Grumman.
- Lunar Dawn: Lunar Outpost, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Goodyear and MDA Space.
- FLEX: Venturi Astrolab, Axiom Space and Odyssey Space Research.
- 18-04-2024 NASA is still studying the performance of the Orion capsule’s heat shield during its reentry to Earth’s atmosphere at the end of the Artemis I mission late 2022.
- 19-04-2024 Artemis III astronauts will put a moonquake detector on lunar surface.
- 09-06-2024 Astronauts test SpaceX Starship hardware and spacesuits for Artemis III.
- 28-06-2024 Canada begins work on new Canadaarm3 robotic arm for upcoming Gateway lunar outpost.
- 03-07-2024 Andre Douglas has been named the backup astronaut for Artemis II.
- 16-07-2024 Artemis II booster rolled out of the space agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility, in New Orleans. The 212-foot (65-meter) booster, with its four RS-25 engines, was escorted a mile down the roadway to be loaded onto NASA’s Pegasus barge for shipping to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, ahead of the second mission of the Artemis program.
- 18-07-2024 (planned for 00-11-2023) Masten Mission One: Tools for mapping the lunar surface temperature, radiation, and hydrogen delivered by Masten Space Systems via their XL-1 lander. Masten Space Systems.
- 18-07-2024 Viper mission canceled by NASA despite 400 million dollars having already been invested in it.
- 24-07-2024 Artemis II Core Stage in VAB.
- 13-08-2024 Boeing needs to improve quality-control work on SLS moon rocket, NASA Inspector General finds.
- 15-08-2024 Update:
- NASA Watchdog disapproves of SLS Block 1B fuel tank welding. There are issues with reinforcements.
- Project Artemis without SLS is on the table.
- SLS program was started at the time to save jobs for the employees working on the discarded Space Shuttles.
29-08-2024 NASA Inspector General issues harsh report on delayed SLS mobile launcher project. The ML-2 Mobile Launcher could cost more than six times originally projected and delay Artemis missions. The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a scathing report on the Mobile Launcher 2 (ML-2) project. ML-2 is needed to transport NASA’s enormous Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket to the launch pad.
02-09-2024 The launch stage adapter for Artemis II left the Marshall Space Flight Facility in Huntsville Alabama in for eventual shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
04-09-2024 Artemis III astronauts will walk on the moon with 4G-equipped spacesuits. Able to reach astronauts up to 2 kilometers away from the lander.A stronauts will wear spacesuits equipped with 4G connectivity — the same 4G that makes up the majority of Earth’s mobile phone networks today. The spacesuits, Axiom Space’s AxEMU models, will be able to connect to a 4G network designed by Nokia. Astronauts can use the network to perform feats like broadcasting high-definition video. On Earth, a mobile network consists of a grid of base stations — the towers that dot the 21st century’s landscape — equipped with a radio array. A wholesale mobile tower is obviously a bit difficult to carry to the moon, so Nokia’s design compresses all of a tower’s base station equipment into a box that can fit onto a lunar lander.
- 20-09-2024 A study has shown that radiation levels in the Orion capsule depend on location. Protected areas provide four times better protection than unprotected areas. It has also been found that proper orientation of the spacecraft can significantly reduce radiation exposure.
- 03-10-2024 NASA rolling the Artemis Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) from LC-39B to the VAB for SLS stacking. ML-1 (Mobile Launcher-1).
- 09-10-2024 Axiom is struggling financially (Artemis space suits).
- 10-10-2024 NASA presents a list of nine possible locations on the moon where astronauts could land in 2026. All landing sites are at the South Pole. The current plan is for a landing in 2026 with Artemis III. The last landing was in 1972 (Eugene Cernan). The Apollo missions landed relatively close to the equator at the time. The South Pole offers access to the oldest terrain on the moon, and to cold, shady areas where water may be present. A possible landing site is a mountain called Mons Mouton. This location is 6,000 meters high and has a plateau that facilitates a soft landing. The mountain also has remarkably few scars from impact craters.
- 28-11-2024 NASA statement: Mars is no plan B for Earth terraforming. Not possible using present day technology.
- 01-12-2024 Rumors that the continued existence of SLS is under discussion.
- 05-12-2024 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and leadership hold a news conference at the agency’s headquarters in Washington to provide a briefing about the agency’s Artemis campaign.
- 05-12-2024 Artemis I: Heat shield analyses:
- Postflight analyses revealed that Orion’s heat shield wore away more unevenly during its reentry to Earth’s atmosphere than engineers had predicted. Temperatures inside Orion remained near room temperature, meaning that astronauts would have remained safe, had any been aboard. But engineers needed to figure out what happened — and they’ve now come to some conclusions, NASA officials announced today.
- The uneven ablation was a consequence of Orion’s “skip” reentry trajectory, in which the capsule bounced off the atmosphere and then came back in again. This strategy is required to dissipate the tremendous energy associated with high-speed returns from the moon, NASA officials said, but it had an unexpected downside on Artemis I.
- “While the capsule was dipping in and out of the atmosphere as part of that planned skip entry, heat accumulated inside the heat shield outer layer, leading to gases forming and becoming trapped inside the heat shield,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said today. “This caused internal pressure to build up and led to cracking and uneven shedding of that outer layer.”
- Further study has shown that Orion’s heat shield will be able to protect astronauts on the 10-day-long Artemis II, she and others announced during the press conference; a new version doesn’t need to be developed for the coming crewed mission. But planners will alter the reentry trajectory to minimize the issues experienced during Artemis I.
- 05-12-2024 Artemis II: Delayed until until April 2026 (astronauts around the moon):
- For Artemis II, engineers will limit how long Orion spends in the temperature range in which the Artemis 1 heat shield phenomenon occurred by modifying how far Orion can fly between when it enters Earth atmosphere and lands,” NASA officials wrote in an Artemis FAQ that was published today. That revised trajectory will also bring the Artemis 2 Orion down in the Pacific Ocean closer to San Diego than previously planned, meaning it will be easier to get help to the mission’s four astronauts if anything goes wrong during reentry.
- After NASA’s Orion spacecraft was recovered at the conclusion of the Artemis 1 test flight and transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, its heat shield was removed from the crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building and rotated for inspection. (Image credit: NASA)
- Artemis II likely would’ve been delayed by a year or so, to late 2026, had a heat-shield replacement been required, NASA officials said today. But the mission team still needs more time than originally envisioned to get Orion up to crew-carrying speed, explaining the roughly six-month push.
- “The updated timeline for the Artemis 2 flight is informed by technical issues engineers are troubleshooting, including with an Orion battery issue and its environmental control [life-support] system,” NASA officials wrote in the Artemis FAQ. “The heat shield was installed in June 2023, and the root cause investigation took place in parallel to other assembly and testing activities to preserve as much schedule as possible.”
- 05-12-2024 Artemis III: Delayed until Mid 2027 (moon landing astronauts).
2025 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 15-01-2025 Launch Blue Ghost M1. Firefly Aerospace. Lunar lander.
- 00-00-2025 Delivery of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV).
- 00-00-2025 Launch of the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) by Maxar and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) by Northrop Grumman as an integrated assembly. First two Lunar Gateway modules.
2026 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-04-2026 Artemis II:
2027 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-00-2027 Artemis III: 4-person lunar orbit with 2-person lunar landing. With Human Landing System (HLS) by SpaceX.
2028 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-00-0000 Artemis IV: 4-person lunar orbit and delivery of the I-HAB for Gateway. Habitat for astronauts when they visit the Gateway. ESA.
- 00-00-0000 New engines (no more reused Spaceshuttle engines).
- 00-00-0000 Delivery of the European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT) for the Gateway. ESA.
- 00-00-0000 Artemis V: Lunar landing with the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV).
- 00-00-0000 Delivery of a Gateway station module.
2029 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-00-0000 Artemis VI: Delivery of the Gateway Airlock Module (enables docking EVAs).
- 00-00-0000 Artemis VII: Delivery of Habitable Mobility Platform to surface. The habitable mobility platform would enable crews to take trips across the Moon lasting up to 45 days. A lunar foundation surface habitat would house as many as four crew members on shorter surface stays.
2030 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-00-0000 Artemis VIII: Delivery of lunar surface logistics.
2031 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-00-0000 Artemis IX: Delivery of the Foundational Surface Habitat. The SH is a fixed surface habitat offering a home base for astronauts, hub for communications, science facility, extravehicular activity (EVA) equipment repair site, waste processing facility, supply hub, surface operations base, and test bed for sustained surface presence and preparation for Mars missions.
2032 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- 00-00-0000 Artemis X: Delivery of lunar surface logistics.
2033 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2034 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2035 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2036 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2037 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2038 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2039 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Artemis.
2040 Artemis in progress and upcoming
- Landing on Mars.
- Original the year 2033 was set by President Obama (in 2016).
- Year 2040 is more realistic (2022).
- Major issues to be solved (2022):
- Propulsion (nucleair might be faster).
- Radiation protection.
- Life support.
Footnote
- Sources: Aerospace dashboard, funkystuff.org
- Outgoing: NASA
- Keywords: