Artemis is NASA's program to bring humans back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. Unlike Apollo, the focus isn't just to land and come back. The goal is to establish sustained presence and use the Moon as practice for future missions to Mars.
The program has three main pieces:
Space Launch System (SLS). Heavy rocket developed by NASA, capable of sending the Orion capsule plus cargo to lunar orbit.
Orion. Crewed capsule for four people, with a service module supplied by ESA (European Space Agency). It stays in lunar orbit while the crew descends to the surface.
Landing system (HLS). Separate vehicle, contracted to private companies. SpaceX was the first contractor with Starship. Blue Origin was added later with Blue Moon. The HLS meets Orion in lunar orbit and takes astronauts to the surface and back.
In addition, there's the Lunar Gateway station, planned to sit in high lunar orbit and serve as a transfer point. Construction starts in the coming years.
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