Humans are going back to the Moon, and this time the plan is to stay. The Artemis program flew astronauts around the Moon in April 2026 for the first time since 1972, and the first landing of the program is planned for 2028. This guide connects everything on the wiki about how the pieces fit together.
Why return to the Moon at all
Three reasons dominate. Science: the lunar south pole holds water ice in permanently shadowed craters, a record of solar system history and a potential resource for propellant and life support. Strategy: China plans crewed lunar landings by 2030, and the Space Race instincts of the 1960s never fully went away. Practice: the Moon is three days from home, which makes it the place to test habitats, suits, and rovers before committing crews to multi-year Mars missions.
The hardware, in one paragraph each
The Space Launch System is the expendable heavy rocket that starts every crewed mission; it has flown twice, both successes. Orion is the crew capsule on top, with a European-built service module. The landers are commercial: a version of SpaceX's Starship won the first contract and is slated for the first landing, with Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK2 following. Robotic cargo flies separately on commercial landers through the CLPS program, which has been delivering payloads to the surface since 2024.
The missions so far
Artemis I (November 2022) sent an uncrewed Orion around the Moon for 25.5 days and exposed a heat shield issue that took over a year to resolve. Artemis II (April 1-10, 2026) carried Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen on a free-return flyby, setting a record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth: 406,771 km. Glover became the first Black astronaut to fly to the Moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first Canadian.
What happens next
Artemis III, announced in its reshaped form in June 2026, will stay in Earth orbit in 2027: Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas will dock Orion with lander test vehicles from both Blue Origin and SpaceX to prove the interfaces. Artemis IV in 2028 is planned as the first crewed landing, at the lunar south pole aboard the Starship HLS. Both dates depend on hardware that is still maturing: Starship needs orbital refueling, and Blue Origin is recovering from the May 2026 New Glenn explosion.
The open questions
Three things to watch. Orbital propellant transfer: the Starship lander cannot reach the Moon without it, and it has never been demonstrated. The Gateway station: proposed for cancellation in NASA's 2026 budget process, its fate shapes every mission after Artemis V. And budgets generally: NASA's FY2026 appropriation landed at 24.44 billion dollars, but SLS and Orion's long-term future beyond the early missions remains an open debate in Washington.
Frequently asked questions
When will humans land on the Moon again?
Under the plan as of mid-2026, Artemis IV in 2028 is the first crewed landing, at the lunar south pole. Artemis III in 2027 stays in Earth orbit to test lander dockings.
How is Artemis different from Apollo?
Apollo was a race with disposable hardware and equatorial landing sites; Artemis targets the resource-rich south pole with commercial, partially reusable landers and international partners, aiming for a sustained presence. See the full Apollo vs Artemis comparison.
Why does the lander need refueling in orbit?
The Starship lander is so large that it launches with nearly empty tanks and must be filled by tanker flights in Earth orbit before heading to the Moon. Cryogenic propellant transfer at this scale is unproven, which makes it the program's biggest technical risk.
Who pays for all this?
NASA funds Artemis within a roughly 24 billion dollar annual budget, buying landers and cargo delivery as fixed-price commercial services while owning SLS and Orion outright. International partners contribute hardware, like Orion's European service module, in exchange for crew seats.