NASA is moving forward with its Artemis program, aiming for a sustained presence on the moon after the successful Artemis II mission. The Artemis II mission, which recently concluded, achieved several milestones, including never-before-seen views of the moon’s far side and a total solar eclipse from the lunar surface.
Now that the Artemis II crew is back, NASA is focusing on Artemis III, which, according to the Associated Press, is “right around the corner.” This next mission will involve yet-to-be-named astronauts practicing docking their Orion capsule with lunar landers in orbit around Earth.
SpaceX and Blue Origin are both vying to have their lunar landers ready first. Elon Musk’s Starship and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Moon are competing for the Artemis IV moon landing in 2028. According to the AP, two astronauts will aim for the south polar region, “the preferred location for Isaacman’s envisioned $20 billion to $30 billion moon base.” The vast amounts of ice almost certainly hidden in permanently shadowed craters there - ice that could provide water and rocket fuel.
NASA plans to announce the Artemis III crew “soon,” seeing the mission as a way to reduce risk for future moon landings, similar to how Apollo 9 tested the lunar module in low-Earth orbit, according to the AP.
The Artemis II mission included the first woman, Christina Koch, the first person of color, Victor Glover, and the first non-U.S. citizen, Jeremy Hansen, to fly to the moon. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called the crew “wonderful communicators, almost poets,” according to the AP.