 Summary of the Artemis IV mission plan | |
| Mission type | Gateway Assembly, lunar landing |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Orion CM-005 Starship HLS I-Hab |
| Manufacturer |
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| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | September 2028 (planned)[1] |
| Rocket | Space Launch System Block 1B |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center,LC-39B |
| End of mission | |
| Landing site | Pacific Ocean (planned) |
Artemis IV is a planned mission of the NASA-ledArtemis program. The mission is proposed to include the fourth use of aSpace Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle, sending anOrion spacecraft with four astronauts to theLunar Gateway space station, where they will install theI-Hab module on Gateway, and conduct the second lunar landing of the Artemis program.
The mission will deliver and install theInternational Habitation Module (I-Hab) of theLunar Gateway space station. I-Hab is being developed by theEuropean Space Agency and the Japanese space agencyJAXA. The mission will dock I-Hab to the first Gateway elements, thePower and Propulsion Element andHabitation and Logistics Outpost.
After docking, astronauts will board aStarship HLS (HLS) vehicle also docked to the station. They will descend to the lunar surface in the HLSlander for a multi-day site inspection.[2]
Artemis IV will be the first flight of the Block 1B version of the Space Launch System. For Block 1B theInterim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage used on SLS Block 1 will be replaced with the more powerfulExploration Upper Stage, increasing the rocket'strans-lunar injection capability from 27 to 42 t (60,000 to 93,000 lb).[3] This increased performance allows I-Hab to be launched together with the Orion spacecraft.
The Space Launch System is asuper-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit. This will be the first Artemis mission to use anSLS Block 1B rocket with an advancedExploration Upper Stage for four upcoming missions until the proposedArtemis IX, which will useSLS Block 2 with advanced boosters.[4]
Orion is thecrew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It comprises the Orion Crew Module and theEuropean Service Module and will transport the crew from Earth to the Gateway orbit, dock to the Gateway, deliver theI-Hab module to the Gateway, and return them back to Earth.[5]
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Gateway is a small modular space station to be established inNear-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) in late 2024.[6] The first two Gateway elements (Power and Propulsion Element and theHabitation and Logistics Outpost) will launch together aboard aSpaceXFalcon Heavy and spend a year spiraling out to the near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon prior to Artemis IV.[7]
Current Artemis IV mission plans call for use of the SpaceX Starship HLS Option B configuration to support the lunar landing and return to Gateway phase of the mission.[8]
The heavier total mass of the SLS Block 1B vehicle requires use of the Mobile Launcher-2 ground support equipment. Current development schedules and challenges experienced by the ML-2 contractor team in the design and delivery of the system have placed this GSE on the critical path from a schedule perspective.[9] Delays to ML-2 availability for use will delay launch of the SLS Block 1B variant. The NASA Office of Inspectior General (OIG) estimates the earliest that ML-2 will be available for Artemis IV is November 2026.[9]
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