"Exploration program" and "Exploration missions" redirect here. For space exploration in general, see Space exploration.
Short description: US deep space exploration programs
Emblem of the Artemis program
The Artemis program is a human spaceflight program by the United States. The Artemis program is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972; mid-term objectives include establishing an international expedition team, and a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Long-term objectives for Artemis are laying the foundations for the extraction of lunar resources, and eventually making crewed missions to Mars and beyond feasible.
To date, missions in the program are aimed at exploration of the Moon, including crewed and robotic exploration of the lunar surface. These explorations will be more focused towards areas such as the lunar poles and the far side of the moon. Three flights of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle are currently planned for launch in the Artemis program in the 2020s, beginning with Artemis I. Before Artemis was named, the flights were referred to as "Orion missions". Numerous supporting scientific and technology demonstration missions are planned for launch under the program's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).
Maiden flight of the SLS, formerly "Exploration Mission 1" (EM1), carrying an uncrewed Orion capsule and ten CubeSats selected through several programs.[5] The payloads were sent on a trans-lunar injection trajectory.[6][7]
Second Artemis crewed lunar landing. Expected to see first efforts to begin building a permanent Moon base.
Support missions
Technology demonstrations
Launched on June 28, 2022,[12] the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment ("CAPSTONE") mission is a small (25 kg) technology-demonstration spacecraft designed to test a low-energy trans-lunar trajectories and to demonstrate the near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) intended to support lunar polar missions.[13]
Peregrine (left) and Nova-C (right) will be the first two robotic landers to directly support the Artemis program.
The lander carried multiple payloads, with a total payload mass capacity of 90 kg.[18] However, the spacecraft was unable to reach the moon because of a propellant leak. It burned up over the Pacific Ocean on January 18.[19]
The lander carried six NASA-sponsored instruments, as well as six payloads from other customers, including EagleCAM.[21] The Odysseus lander successfully touched down at Malapert A near the lunar south pole on February 22, 2024.[22] The mission ended after 7 days with the onset of lunar night, after which no further signals from the spacecraft were received.[23]
The Blue Ghost lander launched on January 15, 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and successfully landed in the Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025, thus becoming only the second commercial mission to achieve a successful moon landing.[27]
The mission successfully launched on February 27, 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and landed at lunar south pole in Mons Mouton on March 6, 2024.[29] However, the lander tipped after touchdown, preventing any meaningful scientific experiments from being performed.[30] On March 13, Intuitive Machines shared that, like on the IM-1 mission, the Athena's altimeter had failed during landing, leaving its onboard computer without an accurate altitude reading. As a result, the spacecraft struck a plateau, tipped over, and skidded across the lunar surface, rolling once or twice before settling inside the crater. The company's CEO compared it to a baseball player sliding into a base. During the slide, the spacecraft rolled once or twice, before coming to rest inside the crater. The impact also kicked up regolith that coated the solar panels in dust, further degrading their performance.[31]