How is Artemis different from Apollo?

Apollo was a crash sprint to land before the Soviets. Artemis is designed for sustainable presence — multiple landings, surface stays, ice prospecting, and international cooperation.

Who is going to the Moon first?

NASA has named the Artemis II crew. The Artemis III landing crew is selected closer to the mission.

What does Artemis cost?

NASA estimates total program cost from FY 2012 to FY 2025 at approximately $93 billion across SLS, Orion, ground systems, and operations.

NASA's Artemis Program: A Complete Guide to Returning Humans to the Moon

Artemis is NASA's program to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there as a stepping stone to Mars. It is a multi-flight, multi-decade effort involving NASA, ESA, JAXA, CSA, and dozens of commercial partners. Here is the complete architecture in plain English.

The architecture in five pieces

Space Launch System (SLS) — the super heavy rocket that launches Orion and crew on a free-return trajectory to the Moon.
Orion spacecraft — the crew vehicle, with a European-built service module providing propulsion and life support.
Lunar Gateway — a small space station in Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon, supporting longer surface campaigns.
Human Landing System — the lander that takes crew to the surface. Two providers: SpaceX Starship HLS and Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 2.
EVA suits — Axiom Space's AxEMU for surface walks, and the next-generation suits replace decades-old Apollo and Shuttle designs.

The flight sequence

Artemis I (Nov 2022) — uncrewed flight test of SLS and Orion.
Artemis II — crewed flyby of the Moon, no landing.
Artemis III — first crewed lunar landing since Apollo, at the south pole.
Artemis IV — first Gateway-supported mission, with assembly elements.
Artemis V and beyond — extended surface stays and rover deployments.

Started: 2017 (NASA Authorization Act)
First flight: Artemis I uncrewed, November 16, 2022
Targeted first landing: Artemis III, late 2020s
Lead spacecraft: Orion (Lockheed Martin) + ESM (Airbus/ESA)
Lead rocket: SLS Block 1 / Block 1B
Landing region: Lunar south pole

Why the south pole, why now?

The south pole holds water ice in permanently shadowed craters — a resource for drinking water, oxygen, and rocket fuel. It also has near-permanent sunlight on nearby ridges. Apollo could not land there with 1960s technology. Now we can, and the resources change everything.

International and commercial partners

ESA builds Orion's service module, contributes Gateway hardware, and flies astronauts. JAXA contributes pressurized rover, life support, and astronauts. CSA builds Canadarm3 for Gateway. SpaceX and Blue Origin build the landers. Axiom Space builds the suits. Lockheed Martin builds Orion. Boeing/Northrop/Aerojet Rocketdyne build SLS components.