After three solid attempts to launch and two hurricanes between the attempts, the first mission of the Artemis program successfully launched at 1:47 a.m. ET on November 16, 2022. So, what is next?

This first mission will take the Orion spacecraft around the Moon with lots of experiments and will drop microsatellites to study the Moon. There are no astronauts in this first mission, but the next two missions will be crewed. In about 25 days, Orion will be back on Earth, landing somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

The second mission, Artemis 2, is targeting 2024 for launch, also from Cape Canaveral. This mission will have astronauts that will orbit the Moon.

The third mission aims to put 2 astronauts back on the Moon’s South Pole, where water (ice) is believed to exist. This will be the first time in over 50 years that American astronauts will land on the Moon, and the first time a woman and a person of color will be on the Moon. Astronauts that will be on the Moon will be three days away from Earth. The plan is to have them set up a functional way to live and work outside of Earth so that, when the time comes, they will be able to apply the same findings and the missions to Mars. Of course, Mars is a lot farther… 3 years away (round trip)!

This whole project will take a deep dive to closely study our closest natural satellite. SLS will also carry modules and robots that will land in different parts of the Moon and take samples and observations.

Fun fact: In Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the Moon. Apollo was the last mission that took astronauts to the Moon.