Our moon is a gorgeous silvery disk of reflected sunlight. It has been with Earth for a majority of its existence. It creates the tides due to its gravitational effects on the oceans. Not only does it evoke a poetic interest in peoples all across the planet, it also sparks an incredible scientific curiosity. Nowhere was that felt more than the Apollo missions.
Apollo Missions
In total, there were 17 Apollo missions. The last flight on December 19, 1972, the end to nearly 9 years of research and American pride. Of these flights, 6 landed on the moon with 2 moonwalks, Apollo 11 and 17.
Initially conceived by Eisenhower in early 1960, Kennedy used the idea to rally the American people. To beat the Soviet Union during the Space Race and be the first country on the Moon. It was a massive undertaking, requiring inordinate amounts of money and resources to funnel into NASA and contractors. It led to a boom in technological innovation during the 60’s and 70’s, and creating many technologies we still enjoy today. Which includes wireless headsets, LED lighting, and freeze-dried foods.
Since Apollo, there have been nearly 50 more missions to the moon, including manned and unmanned.
Artemis Missions
Artemis is the first mission since Apollo that plans to land astronauts on the moon. Not only that, it aims to put the first woman and the first person of color. The goal for the 5 Artemis missions will be to set up a lunar space station, dubbed “Gateway” that will act as a staging base for missions to Mars and beyond. As well as exploring the Moon’s surface over a week rather than a few days like the Apollo missions.
At the time of writing, the Artemis 1 mission was successful, an unmanned flight to orbit around the moon, taking flight in December of 2022. Its flight took it in a wide orbit of the Moon, extensively testing the Orion Module and the Space Launch System. In addition to the experiments three “moonikins,” mannequins that wore the space suits future missions were slated to use. They provided crucial data on the effects the crew would experience.
Two special passengers were included on this mission, Shaun the Sheep and Snoopy. While they didn’t provide scientific data, they were crucial for the morale of the Moonikins.
Artemis 2
The second mission is planned to take people deeper into space than ever before. With a planned flyby of the Moon that would take the Orion Module nearly 9000 kilometers past our lunar companion. The goal of the mission is to test the capabilities of the Orion module, including the Life Support systems.
It is slated to launch after September of 2025.
Artemis 3
This mission will be the first human landing on the Moon since Apollo 17.
After docking with Gateway in orbit, two of the crew will be taken to the lunar surface around the Moon’s South Pole. Specifically the first woman and first person of color on the Moon’s surface. Ferrying them to the lunar surface will be a modified SpaceX Starship rocket, in which the surface crew will spend a week living. In addition, they will be exploring the lunar surface and conducting sampling studies.
While this happens, the remaining two crew members will stay in the Orion module in orbit around the moon before the surface crew rejoins them for the return journey.
Artemis 3 is expected to last 30 days. The longest manned mission to the Moon and beating Apollo 17 by double.
Artemis 4
The fourth mission will be a repeat of 3, save for one major difference: the delivery of the International Habitation Module. Which will allow Moon Mission crews to stay for short periods in orbit around the Moon within Gateway, conducting studies of the Lunar surface. Gateway itself will also be able to perform autonomous research of the moon between lunar missions, when there are no crews inhabiting the space station.
The surface team of Artemis 4 will perform various experiments and collect rock and regolith samples.
Artemis 5
Artemis 5 will have a similar goal to 4, delivering a crew and another module to the Gateway Station. This time, the ESPRIT module is slated to connect to Gateway, which will provide enhanced communications and refueling systems.
Gateway
Gateway will be a small space station orbiting the moon, acting as a platform for surface missions, as well as deeper space exploration. It won’t be permanently occupied like the ISS around Earth, instead taking in crews for short periods to run experiments and studies. Between lunar missions, it will run autonomous research and data collection.
There are 3 major modules in development currently: Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), International Habitation (I-HAB), and ESPRIT. HALO is the foundation of Gateway, with command center and a living space for the astronauts. I-HAB is the second habitation module and will be the main living space for the crews, as well as carrying the equipment necessary for the experiments. ESPRIT, as mentioned above, will enhance communications and refueling, as well as providing a viewing port like is present on the ISS.
Other Systems
SpaceX is contracted to handle the Human Landing System (HLS) that ferries crews from Gateway to the lunar surface for missions 3 and 4. This will be accomplished using a modified Starship Rocket. For Mission 5, Blue Origin will handle the HLS, which should have the potential for an increased number of crew and allow for longer stays on the surface.
Partnerships
NASA is working with the European Space Agency as well as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for the Artemis Missions, with Gateway being an international space station like the ISS orbiting Earth.
Each agency is working on a module to Gateway, with NASA leading the missions themselves.