Artemis 4 (officially Artemis IV) is the fourth planned mission of NASA's
Artemis program
The Artemis program is a robotic and human Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with three partner agencies: European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration ...
. The mission will launch four astronauts on a
Space Launch System
The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any r ...
rocket and an
Orion to the
Lunar Gateway
The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is the first planned extraterrestrial space station in lunar orbit intended to serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, and short-term habitation module for government-agency astr ...
and the second lunar landing of the Artemis program.
Overview
The main objective of the mission will be assembly of the
Lunar Gateway
The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is the first planned extraterrestrial space station in lunar orbit intended to serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, and short-term habitation module for government-agency astr ...
. The mission will deliver the
I-Hab habitat module, developed by the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
and the Japanese space agency
JAXA
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
, to the Gateway. The module will be docked with the first Gateway elements, the
Power and Propulsion Element
The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), previously known as the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle propulsion system, is a planned solar electric ion propulsion module being developed by Maxar Technologies for NASA. It is one of the major components of ...
and
. This upgrade increases the rocket's trans lunar injection capability from >27 metric tons, to >42 metric tons. It also allows the ability to co-manifest payloads onboard with the Orion spacecraft.
Crew
ESA has indicated that their objective is that Artemis IV would be the first mission of an ESA astronaut to the Gateway.
Spacecraft
Space Launch System
The Space Launch System is a
super-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit. This will be the first Artemis mission to use an
SLS Block 1B
The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any ...
rocket with an advanced
Exploration Upper Stage
The Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) is being developed as a large second stage for Block 1B and Block 2 of the Space Launch System (SLS), succeeding Block 1's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. It will be powered by four RL10C-3 engines burning ...
for four upcoming missions until the proposed
Artemis 9, which will use
SLS Block 2 with advanced boosters.
Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle
Orion is the
crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It comprises the Orion Crew Module and the
European Service Module
The European Service Module (ESM) is the service module component of the Orion spacecraft, serving as its primary power and propulsion component until it is discarded at the end of each mission. In January 2013, NASA announced that the European ...
and will transport the crew from Earth to the Gateway orbit, dock to the Gateway, deliver the
I-Hab module to the Gateway, and return them back to Earth.
Gateway
![GATEWAY (Moon Space Station)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/GATEWAY_%28Moon_Space_Station%29.png)
Gateway is a small modular space station to be established in
Near-rectilinear halo orbit
A near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) is a halo orbit with slightly curved – or nearly straight – sides between close passes with an orbiting body. The 2022 CAPSTONE mission is the first such orbit in cislunar space, and this Moon-centric orb ...
(NRHO) in late 2024. The first two Gateway elements (
Power and Propulsion Element
The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), previously known as the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle propulsion system, is a planned solar electric ion propulsion module being developed by Maxar Technologies for NASA. It is one of the major components of ...
and the