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, utilizing a complex multi-partner strategy that includes NASA's SLS/Orion, commercial lunar landers (SpaceX Starship HLS, Blue Origin Blue Moon), and the future Lunar Gateway.
Despite the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission's success, the program faces significant technological hurdles and ambitious timelines, leading to repeated development delays in areas like spacecraft heat shields, lunar spacesuits, and rocket performance.
These challenges are pushing back projected mission dates, with the first crewed lunar landing (Artemis 3) now realistically expected no earlier than late 2028, though these obstacles are deemed surmountable with sustained national and international commitment.

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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.