How Artemis Will Land Humans on the Moon

Three launch systems and two landers from Boeing, SpaceX, and Blue Origin are all part of the complicated puzzle of NASA’s Artemis program.

Monday, January 06, 2025 at 11:29 AM ET

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The Starship HLS stands like a giant 1950s science-fiction spaceship in this artist’s concept, spanning 30 feet (9 m) wide and reaching 160 feet (50 m) above the Moon’s surface. [Credit: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

The Artemis program aims to return humans to the moon through a complex international and private sector collaboration, utilizing multiple vehicles including NASA's SLS and Orion spacecraft, SpaceX's Starship HLS, and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander.
The program involves several missions, from the uncrewed Artemis 1 (completed) and crewed lunar flyby Artemis 2 (expected 2025), to the first planned lunar landing with Artemis 3, now targeting late 2028.
Artemis faces significant technical and financial challenges, such as issues with Orion's heat shield, the development of advanced spacesuits for extreme lunar conditions, and the underperformance of key launch systems like SpaceX's Super Heavy, resulting in substantial delays to its ambitious timeline.

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Sixty-five years ago, the USSR shocked the world by sending the first robotic emissary from Earth to the moon. The September 1959 impact of Luna 2 on northeastern Mare Imbrium was a stunning achievement, reaching the moon less than two years after the launch of Sputnik 1 ushered in the Space Age. The event helped ignite the technological firestorm now known as the Space Race between the U.S. and the USSR.

The U.S. responded to the lunar challenge with a flurry of robotic and human explorers. Less than 10 years after Luna 2 reached the moon, Neil Armstrong took his “one small step for mankind” on the Sea of Tranquility.