Artemis programme

At a glance

Key points

Artemis III is now a crewed docking test in Earth orbit; the first landing moves to Artemis IV.

• Artemis II flew 1–10 April 2026
• Artemis III: crewed docking test in Earth orbit, mid-2027
• First Artemis landing now planned for Artemis IV (2028)

A new distance record

Artemis II's free-return loop carried its crew farther from Earth than Apollo 13, past the Moon's far side. They watched Earth set behind the lunar limb and saw a solar eclipse from lunar distance.

Artemis I: the uncrewed rehearsal

The programme's first flight launched the Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Center on 16 November 2022 and sent an empty Orion capsule into a wide orbit beyond the Moon. Over 25 days it tested navigation, communications and, above all, the heat shield on a return at lunar speed, before splashing down off San Diego on 11 December. Lessons from that shield shaped the crewed flight that followed.

Firsts on Artemis II

When the crew was announced in 2023, NASA noted it included the first woman, the first person of colour and the first Canadian assigned to a lunar mission. In flight they made the first direct call between a deep-space crew and astronauts on the International Space Station, and used eclipse glasses at the Moon to watch the Sun disappear behind it.

Why Artemis III changed

In February 2026 NASA re-scoped Artemis III into a low-Earth-orbit test: Orion will rendezvous and dock with one or both commercial landers before anyone attempts a descent to the surface.

What we still don't know

How much usable water ice the south-polar craters really hold, and the final schedule for the landers that will carry crews down.

Missions

1. 1–10 Apr 2026

   Artemis II

   NASA / CSACompleted

   First crewed lunar flyby since 1972; set a human distance record of 406,770 km (252,756 mi).

   Mission page (opens in a new tab)

2. Target mid-2027

   Artemis III

   NASAPlanned

   Re-scoped in Feb 2026 to a crewed low-Earth-orbit rendezvous and docking test with the commercial landers. Crew named 9 Jun 2026.

   Mission page (opens in a new tab)

3. Target 2028

   Artemis IV

   NASAPlanned

   Planned first Artemis crewed landing, near the lunar south pole.

Related entries

• The MoonEarth's only natural satellite
• Chang'e-7China's lunar south-pole mission

Sources

1. NASA: Astronauts named to first Artemis crew (2023) (opens in a new tab)
2. NASA: Artemis II (opens in a new tab)
3. NASA: Artemis II milestones (opens in a new tab)
4. NASA: Artemis III (opens in a new tab)
5. SpacePolicyOnline: Artemis III crew (opens in a new tab)
6. NASA: Artemis I (opens in a new tab)

Last reviewed 10 Oct 2026 against these sources. Built from public NASA, ESA and JPL data; not affiliated with or endorsed by any agency.