Artemis Is Heading to the Moon, Now What?

NASA’s four-person crew that took humans toward the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17’s mission in 1972 launched on April 1 Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen make up the crew.

Not only is it groundbreaking that this group includes the first woman, Christina Koch, and the first person of color, Victor Glover, to participate in a lunar trip, but the mission itself is also a major step forward for human spaceflight. The Artemis II astronauts traveled farther from Earth than any humans before them, reaching approximately 4,600 miles beyond the far side of the moon. 

While Artemis II does not include an actual moon landing, its flight path took the spacecraft around the Earth twice, essentially “slingshotting” it into orbit around the far side of the moon before returning home. 

Orion, the spacecraft used in the previous Artemis mission in 2022, has only flown in space without a crew. This mission provides the first opportunity to ensure Orion operates as designed with humans on board. To evaluate this, the Artemis II crew will perform tests such as a proximity operations demonstration, in which crewmates manually control the spacecraft to test its docking capabilities for future lunar missions.

For America to reinstate itself as a leader in space affairs, the goal of the Artemis program is to get back to the moon, and eventually, beyond. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman stated, “Artemis II represents progress toward establishing a lasting lunar presence and sending Americans to Mars.” 

NASA also plans to launch the Space Reactor 1 Freedom, the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars in 2028. This spacecraft uses nuclear electric propulsion, which can enable efficient mass transport in deep space, creating possibilities for more high-power missions in the future. 

However, looking beyond the moon is a question filled with uncertainties and mystery at the moment. Artemis’s future still includes missions III, IV, and V, with V hopefully resulting in a successful moon landing. Artemis II is the most monumental, as it evaluates the performance of the Space Launch System rocket, tests the life support systems, and assesses how a diverse crew will fare in space. 

For example, Christina Koch was the first woman to fly around the moon. Data on women in space is not well-documented due to the fact that only 57 women have been to space compared to 477 men. A study assembled by NASA showed differences that men and women might face in space, including women being more susceptible to radiation-induced cancer, men being more likely to faint upon landing, and women being more prone to space motion sickness.

Beyond human impacts, one of Artemis’s primary goals is to begin construction of a lunar base, similar to the International Space Station (ISS). This represents phase three of NASA’s plan to shift Moon missions from short-term visits to long-term habitation. 

NASA is also aiming to ensure there is a strong American presence in low Earth orbit. For example, the space organization is looking to produce a government-owned Core module that could attach to the ISS, followed by commercial modules that could detach into free flight, thereby expanding the station’s capabilities. 

The moon is no longer a distant possibility, and with NASA’s commitment to keeping America at the helm of space exploration, the future is full of possibilities.

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