Artemis II: Everything to know about NASA’s future moon plans

The world has seen the intriguing journey of Artemis II; its splashdown set a new human distance record and provided unique views of the lunar far side. NASA has pivoted to an accelerated mission schedule as the agency has restructured Artemis III as a vehicle docking demonstration to test landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. 

Starting in 2028 with Artemis IV, NASA intends to launch annual missions to build a permanent lunar base. This plan involves three distinct phases: initial scientific study, the construction of livable structures with international partners like JAXA and finally a continuous presence supported by the US National Space Policy.

“The next mission's right around the corner,” entry flight director Rick Henfling said following the crew's splashdown on Friday.

Originally intended as a landing mission, Artemis III is now a demonstration mission to certify vehicles. Astronauts will dock the Orion capsule with a lunar lander in low Earth orbit to test systems before a crewed landing. Space X and Blue Origin are competing to finalize their landers; Blue Origin is targeting a test launch this year, while SpaceX faces delays. 

It is crucial to deploy rovers and instruments to study power generation, navigation and communication. So, building partially livable structures and establishing supply runs, featuring a pressurized rover developed by Japan. It is vital to allow significant transitions from shot visits to a continuous human presence with large-scale equipment filters. These changes align with the US National Space Policy to return to the Moon, reform commercial space roles, and maintain global leadership in exploration.