\n<\/p>\n
In April 2026, NASA will launch a crew of four as part of the Artemis II<\/em> mission, a circumlunar flight that will last 10 days. This mission will set the stage for Artemis III<\/em>, the long-awaited return to the Moon, currently scheduled for mid-2027. With the deployment of the Lunar Gateway<\/em> (also scheduled for 2027), NASA intends to conduct regular missions to the Moon (once a year). With the help of international and commercial partners, NASA then hopes to build a lunar base and the related infrastructure that will allow for a \u201csustained program of lunar exploration and development.\u201d <\/p>\n However, the current schedule is the result of multiple delays, budget restrictions, and issues with the various mission elements. Given the uncertain nature of politics in the U.S. right now, there are concerns that further delays may be inevitable. Meanwhile, China and its partners continue to push ahead with their plans to create a base in the South Pole-Aitken Basin \u2013 the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) \u2013 that will rival NASA\u2019s Artemis Program. Understandably, this situation has raised concerns about who will send crewed missions to the Moon and establish a base there first.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For NASA, the long-awaited return to the Moon began two decades ago with the passage of the NASA Authorization Act of 2005. In addition to allocating funds for robotic space exploration and Earth Observation programs, the Act also instructed the agency to \u201cestablish a program to develop a sustained human presence on the Moon, including a robust precursor program, to promote exploration, science, commerce, and United States preeminence in space, and as a stepping-stone to future exploration of Mars and other destinations.\u201d<\/p>\n This led to the creation of the Constellation Program, which would see astronauts return to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17<\/em> mission in 1972. Since then, NASA\u2019s plans have evolved due to unforeseen circumstances like the Great Recession (2007-2009) and budget shortfalls. By 2010, NASA came back with a new plan known as the Moon to Mars mission architecture, which called for the development of the next-generation Space Launch System<\/em> (SLS) and the Orion<\/em> spacecraft.<\/p>\n By 2017, the Artemis Program was inaugurated with the long-term goal of creating a \u201csustained program of lunar exploration and development.\u201d This plan currently includes returning astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028, followed by the creation of a permanent base around the lunar south pole. Since then, they have enlisted the help of several space agencies and national governments through the Artemis Accords and multiple commercial partners through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) and Human Landing System (HLS) programs to realize this goal.<\/p>\n However, in 2021, China and Roscosmos declared a joint plan to establish their own permanent base in the Moon\u2019s south pole region, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The program\u2019s timetable calls for Russian cosmonauts and Chinese taikonauts to land on the Moon for the first time by 2030. In 2023, China announced this would consist of two Long March 10<\/em> rockets launching the Mengzhou<\/em> <\/em>spacecraft and the Lanyue<\/em> <\/em>lunar lander, the former carrying two taikonauts and the latter ferrying them to the surface and back.<\/p>\n In 2012, NASA proposed a cislunar station to facilitate its \u201cMoon to Mars\u201d mission architecture, dubbed the Deep Space Habitat. By 2018, the design and the program had matured considerably and was renamed Lunar Gateway. This station is now a multinational collaborative project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the UAE\u2019s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).<\/p>\n According to the current design, this station will consist of the \u201ccore elements\u201d: the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), which will launch no sooner than 2027. Further modules will include the European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT), the Lunar International Habitation Module (Lunar I-HAB Module), the Canadarm3 robotic manipulator arms, and the Crew and Science Airlock Module.<\/p>\n \nBack to the Moon to Stay!<\/h2>\n