NASA's Artemis program is an attempt to land humans on the moon for the first time in almost 50 years.

NASA’s 21st century plan to return to the moon

NASA’s Artemis program is an attempt to land humans on the moon for the first time in almost 50 years. The program is largely the result of Space Policy Directive 1, which taskedNASA with focusing more time on getting back to the Moon.

Named after the Greek goddess of the moon, the Artemis program’s goal is to return humans back to the surface of the Moon sustainably and for good. NASA is doing this through public-private partnerships with companies likeSpaceX andBlue Origin, and with international cooperation through the Gateway lunar space station.

The backbone of the Artemis Program is the agency’sSpace Launch System. A two-stage rocket derived from Space Shuttle technology that can place NASA’sOrion spacecraft in an orbit around the Moon. The Space Launch System (or SLS) is under the contract ofBoeing for management and assembly, while Orion is managed byLockheed Martin. These two programs represent the leading costs of the Artemis program, along with the bulk of its delays. Being one of the few remaining cost-plus contracts, discussions of canceling the two or just SLS have been held over the years but have never made it past Congress.

NASA has also built multiple agreements and contracts with private industry to provide services to the agency when they arrive on the Moon with its astronauts. Most notably, there has been SpaceX’s contract for a lunar lander alongside Blue Origin.Axiom Space will be providing the AxEVA spacesuit for lunar excursions.Intuitive Machines,Lunar Outpost, andVenturi Astrolab have all begun work on the lunar terrain vehicle.

The Artemis Program has also expanded to attempt to foster a cis-lunar economy with theCommercial Lunar Payload Services program. Buying rides to the surface of the Moon just like it does with crewed flights to the ISS, CLPS has already started to fund new companies in building viable lunar landers, capable of delivering cargo to the surface.

NASA plans on using what they learn from visiting the moon to help take the next giant leap that is visitingMars.

We’re getting closer and closer to the beginning of launch operations for NASA’s Artemis 2 mission around the Moon; the first crewed mission to the Moon since the 1970s. The rocket, NASA’sSpace Launch System, will begin its launch readiness with its rollout to Launch Complex 39B in just a few weeks.

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission is getting closer and closer, being just over a month away, and that means the rocket is getting ready for launch. TheSpace Launch System received some special decal work for its launch in February; “America 250” can be seen in a recent NASA picture on both the rocket’s boosters.

In what was supposed to be a charge into the new future of lunar exploration and electric vehicles, NASA’s Artemis program has once again taken a step into the past.TechCrunch reports that the agency, alongside other government agencies, will no longer use Canoo’s EV vans for crew transport of Artemis astronauts.

While robotic missions like China’s upcoming Chang’e-7 are expected to map resources and test technologies at the Moon’s south pole, NASA’sArtemis 2 mission represents a different but equally critical pillar of the modern lunar race: the return of humans to deep space beyond low Earth orbit. Scheduled for launch no earlier than February 6, 2026, Artemis 2 will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program and the first human journey beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.

SpaceX is once again facing a setback in getting itsStarship rocket closer to being operational. Meanwhile, Blue Origin is taking slow but steady steps toward having a capable Mark 1 lunar lander. Would NASA be silly not to switch providers for Artemis 3’s lander?

• Exploration
• Artemis
• NASA
• Donald Trump
• Artemis II
• Congress

How the government shutdown could delay the launch of Artemis 2

Seth KurkowskiNov 2 2025 - 8:36 pm PT

0 Comments

While the majority of federal employees are furloughed, awaiting a funding bill to be passed by Congress, NASA teams and contractors are still working towards gettingArtemis 2 ready to launch next year. However, that can’t last forever, and an industry official just shared that some parts may begin to grind to a halt.

Blue Origin may just have a shot at taking away SpaceX’s prizedArtemis 3 crewed lunar landing, as the company has fallen behind its goals to get an HLS Starship variant ready for a 2027 attempt. Now NASA is looking at new options that may be able to get a lander ready faster.

The race to return humans to theMoon is not just about planting a flag. At stake is something less visible but far more consequential: who sets the rules, builds the infrastructure, and defines the operating playbook for the next era of space exploration. And the answer could ripple far beyond the Moon, shaping how – and how soon – humans reach Mars. 

Friday, President Trump released his “skinny” budget request for the U.S. Government’s Fiscal Year 2026; included forNASA is $18.8 billion in proposed funding. This is down 25% from what the agency received in FY2025. Here’s what programs are safe and in trouble.

Boosters, stacked. Core Stage, stacked. Launch Vehicle Stage Adaptor, stacked. NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team has now stacked Artemis 2’s upper stage. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is SLS’s second stage. It will carry Artemis 2’s crew into high Earth orbit. Once finished, the stage will be jettisoned and used for a docking test with Orion. After this, Orion will fire its AJ-10 rocket engine. Sending it on a journey around the moon and back to Earth. The mission is presently set for February 2026.

Apple TV’sFor All Mankind original series portrayed an alternative timeline of our own: what if the Soviets made it to theMoon first? That simple question, with storytelling rooted in actual science, was supposed to have fun at a time that could have been, but might have actually precluded a real-world reality.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will vote onJared Isaacman‘s confirmation as NASA’s nextAdministrator on Wednesday. Both the Committee’sRepublicans andDemocrats released Isaacman’s written questions, so here’s what he thinks about some of the key issues facingNASA right now.

NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team moves quickly to prepareArtemis 2 for launch in early 2026. In March, EGS successfully stacked theSpace Launch System (SLS) core stage onto the mobile launcher between the two solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) is now part of the core stage. Alongside core stage integration, NASA has steadily progressed on the Orion spacecraft, preparing it for its first crewed mission around the Moon and back.

Last week,Jared Isaacman sat in front of his first Congressional hearing in what is expected to be his new career asNASA Administrator. On Wednesday, Isaacman sat in front of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for his confirmation hearing, answering any questions the Senators wished before they voted on giving him the job or not. Here are five things we could expect from potential Administrator Isaacman if he is confirmed.

The Artemis Program political drama continues asJared Isaacman, nominee forNASA Administrator, shares his support for returning to theMoon to build up the capabilities to get toMars. This sounds very similar to NASA’s already-established Moon-to-Mars program, which has been the main talking point over the last eight years when asked about going to Mars. However, this goes against what has been publicly stated about the direction of the nation’s space program.

Last week was a big week for NASA’sCommercial Lunar Payload Services program as it saw two landings by two different companies. The hope was that the agency would end up with two successful providers ofNASA science to the Moon’s surface; instead, it saw one, with the other falling over once again.

Yesterday,NASA’s Exploration Ground System (EGS) completed stacking the final component for Artemis 2’sSLS boosters, including the nosecone. This marks the completion of stacking the two Solid Rocket Boosters, which will provide most of the thrust to lift theArtemis 2 crew off the pad.

TheArtemis program, officially named and accelerated duringPresident Trump’s first term, aims to return astronauts to theMoon and establish a sustainable human presence. Building upon earlier initiatives, including the Constellation program under President George W. Bush, the program has faced significant delays and escalating costs. Estimates suggest that by 2025, the total expenditure could reach $93 billion.

While the White House may or may not be working towards canceling or drastically changing theArtemis Program, NASA is working on keeping it moving. WhileDecember’s Artemis 2 delay sounded like a “no earlier than” date, it now sounds like it’s more a “no later than” date.

In 2017 President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, settingNASA on a mission to return its astronauts to the surface of the Moon using the already in developmentSpace Launch System andOrion spacecraft. It has come a long way, survived one transition of power, but is likely to be taken to battle in Congress.

President Trump, now the 47th President of the United States, mentioned space only once during his address, and it had nothing to do with Artemis and everything to do with a destination a tad bit further away:Mars.

NASA continues to get the rocket that will launch the crew ofArtemis 2 to the Moon ready before the end of the year. The Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) is continuing work on stacking theSpace Launch System‘s solid rocket boosters. Teams have stacked four segments, two per booster, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Next, NASA contractors will stack the center segments, forward-center segments, and forward segments before topping them with nose cones. Nose cones which NASA recently moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building. In all, NASA has eight more booster components to stack before finishing integration.