Other Artemis missions
In 2022, the Artemis I mission sent the Orion spacecraft on the same trajectory around the Moon that Artemis II will take, but without a crew. It was a successful demonstration of SLS and Orion’s capabilities.
If Artemis II succeeds, the next mission will be Artemis III — the first crewed Moon landing mission since the Apollo era. NASA is aiming to conduct this roughly 30-day mission to land astronauts on the lunar south pole by 2028. Artemis III will use the SLS rocket to launch the Orion capsule to the Moon, similar to Artemis II. This time, the capsule will enter into lunar orbit. Once there, two of the crew’s four astronauts (not yet chosen) will descend to the lunar surface on another spacecraft, currently slated to be SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System. Once on the lunar surface, those two astronauts will spend about a week near the lunar south pole. They will explore the surface and perform science experiments before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth.
What the Artemis II crew will do
During the mission, the Artemis II crew will test Orion’s various capabilities in deep space. These include life-support and environmental systems, manual piloting and proximity operations, communications and navigation systems, and others.
The crew will also collect data to contribute to studies of human physiology, sleep, motion, and other biological responses to space travel. For example, the AVATAR (A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response) project will use organ-on-a-chip devices to study the effects of increased radiation and microgravity on human health.
While in the vicinity of the Moon, the crew may make geological observations that could help scientists refine planning for the Artemis III mission.
Why are we going back to the Moon?
Although humans have been to the Moon before, the total time we’ve spent there is only about 12 days. In such a short time, we have accomplished just a small fraction of the science that awaits us there. Although robotic missions have explored the Moon since the Apollo era, it’s still worth sending astronauts back. Humans can do science more quickly, flexibly, and intuitively than robots alone, especially when exploring complex terrain and selecting meaningful samples. The Moon also serves as a testing ground for technologies and skills that are needed for future deep-space missions, including eventual human trips to Mars.