List Of Artemis Astronauts

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 Agency (JAXA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The Artemis program intends to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The major components of the program are the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion spacecraft, Lunar Gateway space station and the commercial Human Landing Systems. The program's long-term goal is to establish a permanent base camp on the Moon and facilitate human missions to Mars.

The Artemis program is a collaboration of government space agencies and private spaceflight companies, bound together by the Artemis Accords and supporting contracts. As of July 2022, twenty-one countries have signed the accords, including traditional U.S. space partners (such as the European Space Agency as well as agencies from Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom) and emerging space powers such as Brazil, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Artemis program was formally established in 2017 during the Trump administration; however, many of its components such as the Orion spacecraft were developed during the previous Constellation program (2005–2010) during the Bush administration, and after its cancellation during the Obama administration. Orion's first launch, and the first use of the Space Launch System, was originally set in 2016, but was rescheduled and launched on 16 November 2022 as the Artemis 1 mission, with robots and mannequins aboard. According to plan, the crewed Artemis 2 launch will take place in 2024, the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing in 2025, the Artemis 4 docking with the Lunar Gateway in 2027, and future yearly landings on the Moon thereafter. However, some observers note that the program's cost and timeline are likely to be overrun and delayed due to, according to internal and external review, NASA's inadequate management of contractors.

Overview

The Artemis program is organized around a series of Space Launch System (SLS) missions. These space missions will increase in complexity and are scheduled to occur at intervals of a year or more. NASA and its partners have planned Artemis 1 through Artemis 5 missions; later Artemis missions have also been proposed. Each SLS mission centers on the launch of an SLS launch vehicle carrying an Orion spacecraft. Missions after Artemis 2 will depend on support missions launched by other organizations and spacecraft for support functions.

SLS missions

Artemis 1 (2022) is an uncrewed test of the SLS and Orion, and is the first test flight for both craft. The goal of the Artemis 1 mission is to place Orion into a lunar orbit, and then return it to Earth. The SLS uses the ICPS second stage, which will perform the trans-lunar injection burn to send Orion to lunar space. Orion will brake into a retrograde distant polar lunar orbit and remain for about six days before boosting back toward Earth. The Orion capsule will separate from its service module, re-enter the atmosphere for aerobraking, and splash down under parachutes.

Artemis 2 (2024) will be the first crewed test flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. The four crew members will perform extensive testing in Earth orbit, and Orion will then be boosted into a free-return trajectory around the Moon, which will return Orion back to Earth for re-entry and splashdown. Launch is scheduled no earlier than May 2024.

Artemis 3 (2025) will be a crewed lunar landing. The mission depends on a support mission to place a Human Landing System (HLS) in place in a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) of the Moon prior to the launch of SLS/Orion. After HLS reaches NRHO, SLS/Orion will send the Orion spacecraft with a crew of four, which is intended to include the first woman and the first person of color to land on the Moon, to rendezvous and dock with HLS. Two astronauts will transfer to HLS, which will descend to the lunar surface and spend about 6.5 days on the surface. The astronauts will perform at least two EVAs on the surface before the HLS ascends to return them to a rendezvous with Orion. Orion will return the four astronauts to Earth. Launch is scheduled no earlier than 2025.

Artemis 4 (2027) is a crewed mission to the Lunar Gateway station in NRHO, using an SLS Block 1B. A prior support mission will deliver the first two gateway modules to NRHO. The extra power of the Block 1B will allow SLS/Orion to deliver the I-HAB gateway module for connection to the Gateway. Launch is scheduled no earlier than 2027.

Artemis 5 through Artemis 8 and beyond are proposed to land astronauts on the lunar surface, where they will take advantage of increasing amounts of infrastructure that are to be landed by support missions. These will include habitats, rovers, scientific instruments, and resource extraction equipment.

Support missions

Support missions include robotic landers, delivery of Gateway modules, Gateway logistics, delivery of the HLS, and delivery of elements of the Moon base. Most of these missions are executed under NASA contracts to commercial providers.

Under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, several robotic landers will deliver scientific instruments and robotic rovers to the lunar surface after Artemis 1. Additional CLPS missions are planned throughout the Artemis program to deliver payloads to the Moon base. These include habitat modules and rovers in support of crewed missions.

The Human Landing System (HLS) is a spacecraft that can convey crew members from NRHO to the lunar surface, support them on the surface, and return them to NRHO. Each crewed landing needs one HLS, although some or all of the spacecraft may be reusable. Each HLS must be launched from Earth and delivered to NRHO in one or more launches. The initial commercial contract was awarded to SpaceX for two Starship HLS missions, one uncrewed and one crewed as part of Artemis 3. These two missions each require one HLS launch and multiple fueling launches, all on SpaceX Starship launchers. , NASA has also exercised an option under the initial contract to commission an upgraded Starship HLS design and third demonstration lunar mission under new sustainability rules it is drafting. It intends to pursue another HLS design from outside SpaceX in parallel, for redundancy and competition.

The first two Gateway modules (PPE and HALO) will be delivered to NRHO in a single launch using a Falcon Heavy launcher. Originally planned to be available prior to Artemis 3, as of 2021 it is planned for availability before Artemis 4.

The Gateway will be resupplied and supported by launches of Dragon XL spacecraft launched by Falcon Heavy. Each Dragon XL will remain attached to Gateway for up to six months. the Dragon XLs will not return to Earth, but will be disposed of, probably by deliberate crashes on the lunar surface.

History

Early history

The Artemis program incorporates several major components of previously canceled NASA programs and missions, including the Constellation program and the Asteroid Redirect Mission. Originally legislated by the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, Constellation included the development of Ares I, Ares V, and the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. The program ran from the early 2000s until 2010.

In May 2009, President Barack Obama established the Augustine Committee to take into account several objectives including support for the International Space Station, development of missions beyond low Earth orbit (including the Moon, Mars, and near-Earth objects), and utilization of the commercial space industry within defined budget limits. The committee concluded that the Constellation program was massively underfunded and that a 2020 Moon landing was impossible. Constellation was subsequently put on hold.

On 15 April 2010, President Obama spoke at the Kennedy Space Center, announcing the administration's plans for NASA and cancelling the non-Orion elements of Constellation on the premise that the program had become nonviable. He instead proposed US$6 billion in additional funding and called for development of a new heavy lift rocket program to be ready for construction by 2015 with crewed missions to Mars orbit by the mid-2030s.

On 11 October 2010, President Obama signed into law the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which included requirements for the immediate development of the Space Launch System as a follow-on launch vehicle to the Space Shuttle, and continued development of a Crew Exploration Vehicle to be capable of supporting missions beyond low Earth orbit starting in 2016, while making use of the workforce, assets, and capabilities of the Space Shuttle program, Constellation program, and other NASA programs. The law also invested in space technologies and robotics capabilities tied to the overall space exploration framework, ensured continued support for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, Commercial Resupply Services, and expanded the Commercial Crew Development program.

On 30 June 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to re-establish the National Space Council, chaired by Vice-President Mike Pence. The Trump administration's first budget request kept Obama-era human spaceflight programs in place: Commercial Resupply Services, Commercial Crew Development, the Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft for deep space missions, while reducing Earth science research and calling for the elimination of NASA's education office.

Redefinition and naming as Artemis

On 11 December 2017, President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, a change in national space policy that provides for a U.S.-led, integrated program with private sector partners for a human return to the Moon, followed by missions to Mars and beyond. The policy calls for the NASA administrator to "lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the Solar System and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities". The effort intends to more effectively organize government, private industry, and international efforts toward returning humans to the Moon, and laying the foundation of eventual human exploration of Mars. Space Policy Directive 1 authorized the lunar-focused campaign. The campaign (later named Artemis) draws upon legacy US spacecraft programs including the Orion space capsule, the Lunar Gateway space station, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and also creates entirely new programs such as the Human Landing System. The in-development Space Launch System is expected to serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles will launch various other elements of the program.

On 26 March 2019, Vice President Mike Pence announced that NASA's Moon landing goal would be accelerated by four years with a planned landing in 2024. On 14 May 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the new program would be named Artemis, after the goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology who is the twin sister of Apollo. Despite the immediate new goals, Mars missions by the 2030s were still intended .

In mid-2019, NASA requested US$1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020, while the Senate Appropriations Committee requested from NASA a five-year budget profile which is needed for evaluation and approval by Congress.

In February 2020, the White House requested a funding increase of 12% to cover the Artemis program as part of its fiscal year 2021 budget. The total budget would have been US$25.2 billion per year with US$3.7 billion dedicated towards a Human Landing System. NASA Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit said he thought the agency has "a very good shot" to get this budget through Congress despite Democratic concerns around the program. However, in July 2020 the House Appropriations Committee rejected the White House's requested funding increase. The bill proposed in the House dedicated only US$700 million towards the Human Landing System, 81% (US$3 billion) short of the requested amount.

In April 2020, NASA awarded funding to Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX for competing 10-month-long preliminary design studies for the HLS.

Throughout February 2021, Acting Administrator of NASA Steve Jurczyk reiterated those budget concerns when asked about the project's schedule, clarifying that "The 2024 lunar landing goal may no longer be a realistic target ...

On 4 February 2021, the Biden Administration endorsed the Artemis program. More specifically, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki expressed the Biden administration's "support orthis effort and endeavor".

On 16 April 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX to develop, manufacture, and fly two lunar landing flights with the Starship HLS lunar lander. Blue Origin and Dynetics protested the award to the GAO on 26 April. After the GAO rejected the protests, Blue Origin sued NASA over the award, and NASA agreed to stop work on the contract until 1 November 2021 as the lawsuit proceeded. The judge dismissed the suit on 4 November 2021 and NASA resumed work with SpaceX.

On 25 September 2021, NASA released its first digital, interactive graphic novel in celebration of National Comic Book Day. "First Woman: NASA's Promise for Humanity" is the fictional story of Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon.

In addition to the initial SpaceX contract, NASA awarded two rounds of separate contracts in May 2019 and September 2021, on aspects of the HLS to encourage alternative designs, separately from the initial HLS development effort. It announced in March 2022 that it was developing new sustainability rules and pursuing both a Starship HLS upgrade (an option under the initial SpaceX contract) and new competing alternative designs. These came after criticism from members of Congress over lack of redundancy and competition, and led NASA to ask for additional support.

Launch

Artemis 1 was originally scheduled for late 2021, but the launch date was pushed back to 29 August 2022. Engine sensor problems caused a delay on that date; the next launch window was September 3. A fuel supply line leak in a quick disconnect arm on a ground tail service mast caused a further delay to a period between 23 September and 4 October. While the leak was partially repaired to a satisfactory condition, weather delays due to Hurricane Ian forced NASA managers to begin preparing for the stack's rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building and call off the September–early October launch window.

In October 2022, NASA launch managers decided on a new launch date of 14 November, with backup options for 16 November and 19 November. In early November, NASA launch managers ruled out the 14 November option and made preparations to secure the SLS at the pad for Tropical Storm Nicole, after which launch was planned for 16 November.

On 16 November 2022, at 01:47:44 EST (06:47:44 UTC), Artemis 1 successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center.

The Artemis I flight test was completed at 9:40 a.m. PST 11 December 2022, when the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, after a record-breaking mission, which saw Artemis travel more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the Moon before returning safely to Earth. The splashdown occurred 50 years to the day since NASA's Apollo 17 moon landing; the last astronaut mission to touch down on the lunar surface.

Supporting programs

Implementation of the Artemis program will require additional programs, projects, and commercial launchers to support the construction of the Gateway, launch resupply missions to the station, and deploy numerous robotic spacecraft and instruments to the lunar surface. Several precursor robotic missions are being coordinated through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which is dedicated to scouting and characterization of lunar resources as well as testing principles for in-situ resource utilization.

Commercial Lunar Payload Services

In March 2018, NASA established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program with the aim of sending small robotic landers and rovers mostly to the lunar south pole region as a precursor to and in support of crewed missions. The main goals include scouting of lunar resources, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) feasibility testing, and lunar science. NASA is awarding commercial providers indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts to develop and fly lunar landers with scientific payloads. The first phase considered proposals capable of delivering at least of payload by the end of 2021. Proposals for mid-sized landers capable of delivering between and of cargo were planned to also be considered for launch beyond 2021.

In November 2018, NASA announced the first nine companies that were qualified to bid on the CLPS transportation service contracts (see list below). On 31 May 2019, three of those were awarded lander contracts: Astrobotic Technology, Intuitive Machines, and OrbitBeyond

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