NASA UNVEILS ARTEMIS PROGRAM OVERVIEW, CHARTING COURSE FOR A NEW ERA OF MOON EXPLORATion

Their target date is 2024 - hope they make it. NASA and projected timelines have a hostile relationship.

NASA has set its first Artemis test flight for 2021 — an uncrewed mission aimed at checking its vital systems — ahead of its 2024 target date for returning people to the Moon. And according to the space agency's newly-published program outline, it still expects to meet both deadlines.

NASA has just made public its new lunar exploration program overview, which serves as a bird’s-eye survey of both past and upcoming Artemis milestones, as well as the program’s role as an early stepping stone to Mars. The document outlines the timeline for the three planned launches of the conjoined Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft that, by the third launch, will put the first woman in history on the lunar surface.
Artemis III will be the launch that takes NASA all the way back to the Moon with humans aboard, but it’s only a part of the overall priorities list the agency outlines for the new lunar program, which it regards as a key step toward setting humanity’s sights on a future trip to Mars. Artemis isn’t simply designed to tick off a list of lunar accomplishments and then close up shop; it’s intended to return people to the Moon and keep them there — while building an infrastructure network that can support space exploration that ventures deeper into the Solar System.

“After Artemis III, NASA and its partners will embark on missions on and around the Moon that also will help prepare us for the types of mission durations and operations that we will experience on human missions to Mars,” NASA writes. A key piece of that infrastructure puzzle will be building out the Lunar Gateway space station, as well as other “core Artemis elements” that include evolving development of the SLS and Orion spacecraft, the Human Landing System (HLS), and “potentially” the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), according to the outline.


Setting up a long-term lunar presence (while casting an eye farther into space) will involve the integration of a lot of third parties and private development, the first steps of which NASA has already shared with its announcement of the ongoing competition for a trio of lunar lander prototypes. “With this approach, NASA will leverage years of investment in the systems needed to return to the Moon, while fostering new partnerships and spurring new capabilities to ensure that humanity’s return to the Moon is sustainable and extensible to the first human mission to Mars,” the agency writes.
Build a facility for Space Force on the moon too.