NASA is once again at the forefront of technology, science and engineering with the introduction of their new Artemis program. The most bold and courageous program to date. NASA wishes to exceed the limits once more. 

The Artemis program is NASA’s new lunar landing program. NASA wishes to follow in the footsteps of the Apollo program and put humans back on the Moon. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the sister of Apollo, making it a natural name for the new program. 

The new plan is to not only land and walk on the Moon, like the Apollo astronauts did, but also to establish a permanent human settlement on our celestial neighbor. The most daring factor in this plan is the accelerated time frame: NASA wants to land on the moon  by 2024.

This new time frame will be a challenging deadline to meet. In order to accomplish such a feat, NASA will be using its brand new Space Launch System. A behemoth of a rocket standing at 365 feet tall,with enough power behind it to carry a payload of 150 metric tons to orbit. The SLS will be the backbone of the Artemis program and key to putting humans back on the Moon.

The Artemis 1 mission will be in 2020. This flight will be to test the new SLS and the new Orion capsule together for the first time. Artemis 2, which will be in 2022, will be the first crewed mission and will consist of a flight around the Moon. Artemis 3 will be the bread and butter of the Artemis program and will  land humans on the moon by 2024. The following Artemis missions will be to expand the Moon settlement.

Once on the Moon, the astronauts’ goal will be to establish a permanent habitat to be able to live and survive on the Moon. The astronauts will have to use the lunar resources to build and survive. This includes the collection of water ice for the use of oxygen, drinking water, and rocket fuel. The habitats on the Moon will be built from the Moon dust itself using 3-D printers and other tools brought from Earth.The Moon settlement will also allow us to finally explore the Moon’s greatest mysteries. 

The ultimate goal of NASA is to one day put people on Mars. In order to do this, we must first test our technology and ability to survive on another celestial body. The best candidate for that would be the Moon, our closest neighbor. 

The Artemis program will change the way we look at  Earth and our place in this vast universe. The hope of the Artemis program is to inspire future generations to reach for the stars and make the impossible possible.

We are the Artemis generation.