Artemis program

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program 

Country	United States
Organization	NASA and partners
Purpose	Crewed lunar exploration
Status	Ongoing
Program history
Cost	US$35 billion (2020–2024)
Duration	2017–present
First flight	Artemis 1 (NET November 4, 2021)
First crewed flight	Artemis 2 (NET August 2023)
Launch site(s)	Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Kennedy Space Center Starbase, Phobos or Deimos (Starship HLS)
Vehicle information
Crewed vehicle(s)	Orion Starship HLS Lunar Gateway
Launch vehicle(s)	Space Launch System Starship Commercial launch vehicles

The Artemis Program is a United States-led international human spaceflight program launched in 2017 to return humans to the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region, by 2024. If successful, it will be the first crewed lunar mission since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.

The Artemis Program formally began in December 2017 under the Trump administration, with its initial focus including commercial mining of the Moon. Its stated goal is landing the first woman on the Moon; long-term objectives include establishing an expedition team and a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.

The Artemis Program is carried out predominantly by NASA and contracted U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, with international partners including the space agencies of Europe, Luxembourg, Japan, Canada, Italy, Australia, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, and Brazil. While NASA is leading the effort, it anticipates other nations playing a key role, with the eponymous Artemis Accords opened for signature since October 2020 for governments to participate.

In February 2021 the succeeding Biden administration officially endorsed the Artemis Program. In April 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX to develop, manufacture, and fly two lunar missions with the Starship HLS lunar lander; the following month, the Lunar Gateway was announced as an international space station to orbit the Moon.

History

The current Artemis program incorporates several major components of previous canceled NASA programs and missions, such as the Constellation program and the Asteroid Redirect Mission. Originally legislated by the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, Constellation included the development of Ares I, Ares V, and the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. The program ran from the early 2000s until 2010.

In May 2009, President Barack Obama established the Augustine Committee to take into account several objectives including support for the International Space Station, development of missions beyond low Earth orbit (including the Moon, Mars and Near-Earth objects) and utilization of the commercial space industry within defined budget limits. The committee concluded that the Constellation program was massively underfunded and that a 2020 Moon landing was impossible. Constellation was subsequently put on hold.

On 15 April 2010, President Obama spoke at the Kennedy Space Center, announcing the administration's plans for NASA and cancelling the non-Orion elements of Constellation on the premise that the program had become nonviable. He instead proposed US$6 billion in additional funding and called for development of a new heavy lift rocket program to be ready for construction by 2015 with crewed missions to Mars orbit by the mid-2030s.

On 11 October 2010, President Obama signed into law the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which included requirements for the immediate development of the Space Launch System as a follow-on launch vehicle to the Space Shuttle and continued development of a Crew Exploration Vehicle to be capable of supporting missions beyond low Earth orbit starting in 2016, while maximizing, where possible, the use of the workforce, assets, and capabilities of the Space Shuttle, Constellation program and other NASA programs. The law also invested in space technologies and robotics capabilities tied to the overall space exploration framework, continued to support Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, Commercial Resupply Services and expanded the Commercial Crew Development program.

On 30 June 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to re-establish the National Space Council, chaired by Vice-President Mike Pence. The Trump administration's first budget request kept Obama-era human spaceflight programs in place: Commercial Resupply Services, Commercial Crew Development, the Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft for deep space missions, while reducing Earth science research and calling for the elimination of NASA's education office.

On 11 December 2017, President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, a change in national space policy that provides for a U.S.-led, integrated program with private sector partners for a human return to the Moon, followed by missions to Mars and beyond. The policy calls for the NASA administrator to "lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the Solar System and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities". The effort intends to more effectively organize government, private industry, and international efforts toward returning humans on the Moon and laying the foundation of eventual human exploration of Mars. Space Policy Directive 1 authorized the lunar-focused campaign. Artemis draws upon legacy US spacecraft programs including the Orion space capsule, the Lunar Gateway space station, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and also creates entirely new programs such as the Human Landing System. The in-development Space Launch System is expected to serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles will launch various other elements of the campaign.

On 26 March 2019, Vice President Mike Pence announced that NASA's Moon landing goal would be accelerated by four years with a planned landing in 2024. On 14 May 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the new program would be named Artemis, who is both the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. Despite the immediate new goals, Mars missions by the 2030s were still intended as of May 2019.

In mid-2019, NASA requested US$1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020, while the Senate Appropriations Committee requested from NASA a five-year budget profile which is needed for evaluation and approval by Congress.

In February 2020, the White House requested a funding increase of 12% to cover the Artemis program as part of its fiscal year 2021 budget. The total budget would have been US$25.2 billion per year with US$3.7 billion dedicated towards a Human Landing System. NASA Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit said he thought the agency has "a very good shot" to get this budget through Congress despite Democratic concerns around the program. However, in July 2020 the House Appropriations Committee rejected the White House's requested funding increase. The bill proposed in the House dedicated only US$700 million towards the Human Landing System, US$3 billion short of the requested amount.

Throughout February 2021, Acting Administrator of NASA Steve Jurczyk reiterated those budget concerns when asked about the project's schedule, clarifying that "The 2024 lunar landing goal may no longer be a realistic target [...]".

On 4 February 2021, the Biden Administration endorsed the Artemis program. More specifically, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki expressed the Biden administration's "support [for] this effort and endeavor".

On April 16, 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX to develop, manufacture, and fly two lunar landing flights with the Starship HLS lunar lander.

Supporting programs

Implementation of the Artemis program will require additional programs, projects, and commercial launchers to support the construction of the Gateway, launch resupply missions to the station, and deploy numerous robotic spacecraft and instruments to the lunar surface. Several precursor robotic missions are being coordinated through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which is dedicated to scouting and characterization of lunar resources as well as testing principles for in-situ resource utilization.

Models of the first three commercial landers selected for the program. From left: Peregrine by Astrobotic Technology, Nova-C by Intuitive Machines, and Z-01 by OrbitBeyond.

Commercial Lunar Payload Services

In March 2018, NASA established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program with the aim of sending small robotic landers and rovers mostly to the lunar south pole region as a precursor to and in support of crewed missions. The main goals include scouting of lunar resources, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) feasibility testing, and lunar science. NASA is awarding commercial providers indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts to develop and fly lunar landers with scientific payloads. The first phase considered proposals capable of delivering at least 10 kg (22 lb) of payload by the end of 2021. Proposals for mid-sized landers capable of delivering between 500 kg (1,100 lb) and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of cargo were planned to also be considered for launch beyond 2021.

In November 2018, NASA announced the first nine companies that were qualified to bid on the CLPS transportation service contracts (see list below). On 31 May 2019, three of those were awarded lander contracts: Astrobotic Technology, Intuitive Machines, OrbitBeyond. On 29 July 2019, NASA announced that it had granted OrbitBeyond's request to be released from obligations under the contract citing "internal corporate challenges".

The first twelve payloads and experiments from NASA centers were announced on 21 February 2019. On 1 July 2019, NASA announced the selection of twelve additional payloads, provided by universities and industry. Seven of these are scientific investigations while five are technology demonstrations.

The Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads (LSITP) program was soliciting payloads in 2019 that do not require significant additional development. They will include technology demonstrators to advance lunar science or the commercial development of the Moon.

In November 2019, NASA added five contractors to the group of companies who are eligible to bid to send large payloads to the surface of the moon with to the CLPS program: Blue Origin, Ceres Robotics, Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

In April 2020, NASA selected Masten Space Systems for a follow-on CLPS delivery of cargo to the Moon in 2022.

In February 2021, NASA selected Firefly Aerospace for a CLPS launch to Mare Crisium in mid-2023.

Commercial contractors selected for CLPS and HLS NASA-funded design work

Selection date	Company	Headquarters	Element	Proposed services	Awarded contract
29 November 2018	Astrobotic Technology	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	CLPS	Peregrine lander	31 May 2019 US$79.5 million
	Deep Space Systems	Littleton, Colorado	CLPS	Rover; design and development services
	Draper Laboratory	Cambridge, Massachusetts	CLPS	Artemis-7 lander
	Firefly Aerospace	Cedar Park, Texas	CLPS	Blue Ghost lander	4 February 2021 US$93.3 million
	Intuitive Machines	Houston, Texas	CLPS	Nova-C lander	31 May 2019 US$77 million
	Lockheed Martin Space	Littleton, Colorado	CLPS	McCandless Lunar Lander
	Masten Space Systems	Mojave, California	CLPS	XL-1 lander	8 April 2020 US$75.9 million
	Moon Express	Cape Canaveral, Florida	CLPS	MX-1, MX-2, MX-5, MX-9 landers; sample return.
	OrbitBeyond	Edison, New Jersey	CLPS	Z-01 and Z-02 landers	31 May 2019 US$97 million
18 November 2019	Blue Origin	Kent, Washington	CLPS / HLS	Blue Moon lander
	Ceres Robotics	Palo Alto, California	CLPS
	Sierra Nevada Corporation	Louisville, Colorado	CLPS
	SpaceX	Hawthorne, California	CLPS / HLS	Starship / Starship HLS
	Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems	Irvine, California	CLPS
3 December 2020	Lunar outpost	Golden, Colorado	CLPS	Rover

International contractors

Name	Based	Spacecraft
Ispace	Tokyo,  Japan	Hakuto-R
Ispace Europe	Luxembourg	?
Toyota	Toyota City,  Japan	Lunar Cruiser
ArianeGroup	Gironde,  France	Space Launch System
ESAB	Laxå Municipality,  Sweden	Space Launch System
MT Aerospace	Augsburg,  Germany	Space Launch System
Schaeffler Aerospace Germany GmbH & Co. KG	Schweinfurt,  Germany	Space Launch System
Magna Steyr	Graz,  Austria	Space Launch System
Airbus	Ottobrunn  Germany	Orion Service Module; Gateway Study; Study of Lunar ISRU Mission (ESA)
Fleet Space	South Australia,  Australia	7 Sisters
OZ Minerals	Adelaide, South Australia,  Australia	7 Sisters
University of Adelaide	Adelaide, South Australia,  Australia	7 Sisters
University of New South Wales	Sydney, New South Wales,  Australia	7 Sisters
Unearthed	Perth, Western Australia,  Australia	7 Sisters
MDA	Brampton,  Canada	Canadarm 3

Artemis Accords

On 5 May 2020, Reuters reported that the Trump administration was drafting a new international agreement outlining the laws for mining on the Moon. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine officially announced the Artemis Accords on 15 May 2020 will be a series of a bilateral agreements between the governments of participating nations in the Artemis program "grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967". The Artemis accords have been criticized by some American researchers as "a concerted, strategic effort to redirect international space cooperation in favor of short-term U.S. commercial interests". The Accords were signed by the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates on 13 October 2020, and later signed by Ukraine.

Exploration Ground Systems (EGS)

Name	Based
Knight Optical (USA)	North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Sensing Systems Corporation	New Bedford, Massachusetts
Altova	Beverly, Massachusetts
Engility	Andover, Massachusetts
Turbonomic	Boston, Massachusetts
Mathworks	Natick, Massachusetts
Dell EMC	Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Alutiiq Fusion Joint Venture	Anchorage, Alaska
Envirolux Energy Systems	Vancouver, Washington
XPO Logistics	Portland, Oregon
Gyro-Stabilized Systems	Nevada City, California
Livermore Software Technology Corporation	Livermore, California
New Tech Solutions	Fremont, California
San Jose State University Research	San Jose, California
Intel	Santa Clara, California
Troian Industries	Mountain View, California
Real Time Innovations	Sunnyvale, California
New Directions Technology	Ridgecrest, California
NIT Americans	Simi Valley, California

Launch vehicles

As of the early mission concepts outlined by NASA in May 2020, launch vehicles planned to be used will include the NASA Space Launch System as well as commercial launch systems chosen and contracted for by the various commercial suppliers of the Human Landing System (HLS) elements: Blue Origin New Glenn, United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur, and SpaceX Starship and Falcon 9, as well as launch vehicles that are contracted for the various CLPS cargo providers. The European Ariane 6 was also proposed to be part of the program in July 2019.

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) module and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) of the Gateway, which were previously planned for the SLS Block 1B, will now fly together on a Falcon Heavy in May 2024. The Gateway will be supported and resupplied by approximately 28 commercial cargo missions launched by undetermined commercial launch vehicles. The Gateway Logistics Services (GLS) will be in charge of the resupply missions, as well for contracting the construction of a resupply vehicle capable to remain docked to the Gateway for one year of operations, provide and generate its own power while docked, and be capable of autonomous disposal at the end of its mission.

The components of a crewed lunar lander will also be deployed to the station on a commercial launcher before the arrival of the first crewed mission, Artemis 3.

Although the Delta IV Heavy and Falcon Heavy were considered by NASA to launch a crewed Orion, the agency ultimately decided to use only the SLS.

Launch Vehicles

Launch Vehicle	Missions
Space Launch System	Crew transportation and supplementary logistics
Falcon Heavy	Dragon XL launches and the first two Gateway modules
Vulcan Centaur	Parts of the Integrated Landing Vehicle and the Dynetics HLS along with CLPS missions
Falcon 9	CLPS missions
Electron	CAPSTONE
New Glenn	Modules of the Integrated Landing Vehicle
New Shepard	Testing of SPLICE sensor suite to support future lunar landers.
Starship	Starship HLS and heavy surface payloads
Ariane 6	ESPRIT and Heracles

Space Launch System

Planned evolution of the Space Launch System, the primary launch vehicle for Orion

The Space Launch System (SLS) is a United States super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle, which has been under development since its announcement in 2011. The SLS is the main launch vehicle of the Artemis lunar program, as of March 2021. NASA is required to utilize SLS Block 1 by the U.S. Congress to lift a payload of 95 t (209,000 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO), and will launch Artemis 1, 2, and 3. The later Block 1B is intended to debut the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) and launch the notional Artemis 4-7. Block 2 is planned to replace the initial Shuttle-derived boosters with advanced boosters and would have a LEO capability of more than 150 t (150 long tons; 170 short tons), again as required by Congress. Block 2 is intended to enable crewed launches to Mars. The SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft and use the ground operations capabilities and launch facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Some variations of the SLS launch manifest has all the blocks being active at the same time rather than one block replacing the last as is common with launchers.

SLS Core Stage rolling out from the Michoud Assembly Facility on 8 January 2020, ahead of the Artemis 1 Mission.

In March 2019, the Trump Administration released its Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request for NASA. This budget did not initially include any money for the Block 1B and Block 2 variants of SLS but later a request for a budget increase of US1.6 billion dollars towards SLS, Orion, and crewed landers was made. Block 1B is currently intended to debut on Artemis 4 and will be used mainly for co-manifested crew transfers and logistics rather than constructing the Gateway as initially planned. An uncrewed Block was planned to launch the Lunar Surface Asset in 2028, the first lunar outpost of the Artemis program, but now that launch has been moved to a commercial launcher. Block 2 development will most likely start in the late 2020s after NASA is regularly visiting the lunar surface and shifts focus towards Mars.

In October 2019, it was announced NASA had authorized Boeing to purchase materials in bulk for more SLS rockets ahead of the announcement of a new contract. This contract is expected to support up to ten core stages and eight Exploration Upper Stages for the SLS 1B to transfer heavy payloads, up to 40 metric tons, on a lunar trajectory.

Spacecraft

Orion

NASA's Orion spacecraft undergoing final tests.

Orion is a class of partially reusable space capsules to be used in NASA's human spaceflight programs. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) designed by Lockheed Martin and the European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Capable of supporting a crew of six beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with solar panels, an automated docking system, and glass cockpit interfaces modeled after those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A single AJ10 engine provides the spacecraft's primary propulsion, while eight R-4D-11 engines, and six pods of custom reaction control system engines developed by Airbus, provide the spacecraft's secondary propulsion. Although compatible with other launch vehicles, Orion is primarily designed to launch atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with a tower launch escape system.

Orion was originally conceived by Lockheed Martin as a proposal for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to be used in NASA's Constellation program. Lockheed Martin's proposal defeated a competing proposal by Northrop Grumman, and was selected by NASA in 2006 to be the CEV. Originally designed with a service module featuring a new "Orion Main Engine" and a pair of circular solar panels, the spacecraft was to be launched atop the Ares I rocket. Following the cancellation of the Constellation program in 2010, Orion was heavily redesigned for use in NASA's Journey to Mars initiative; later named Moon to Mars. The SLS replaced the Ares I as Orion's primary launch vehicle, and the service module was replaced with a design based on the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle. A development version of Orion's CM was launched in 2014 during Exploration Flight Test-1, while at least four test articles have been produced. As of 2020, three flight-worthy Orion spacecraft are under construction, with an additional one ordered, for use in NASA's Artemis program; the first of these is due to be launched in 2021 on Artemis 1. On 30 November 2020, it was reported that NASA and Lockheed Martin had found a failure with a component in one of the Orion spacecraft's power data units but NASA later clarified that it does not expect the issue to affect the Artemis 1 launch date.

A conceptual advanced Gateway depicting what Gateway could look like in the late 2020s.

Gateway

NASA's Gateway is an in-development mini-space station in lunar orbit intended to serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, short-term habitation module, and holding area for rovers and other robots. While the project is led by NASA, the Gateway is meant to be developed, serviced, and utilized in collaboration with commercial and international partners: Canada (Canadian Space Agency) (CSA), Europe (European Space Agency) (ESA), and Japan (JAXA).

Phase 1 early Gateway with Power and Propulsion Element (left), Habitation and Logistics Outpost (center foreground), and cargo spacecraft (center background) depicted

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) started development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the now canceled Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The original concept was a robotic, high performance solar electric spacecraft that would retrieve a multi-ton boulder from an asteroid and bring it to lunar orbit for study. When ARM was canceled, the solar electric propulsion was repurposed for the Gateway. The PPE will allow access to the entire lunar surface and act as a space tug for visiting craft. It will also serve as the command and communications center of the Gateway. The PPE is intended to have a mass of 8-9 tonnes and the capability to generate 50 kW of solar electric power for its ion thrusters, which can be supplemented by chemical propulsion.

The Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), also called the Minimal Habitation Module (MHM) and formerly known as the Utilization Module, will be built by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS). A Falcon Heavy equipped with an extended fairing will launch both the PPE and the HALO in May 2024. The HALO is based on a Cygnus Cargo resupply module to the outside of which radial docking ports, body mounted radiators (BMRs), batteries and communications antennae will be added. The HALO will be a scaled-down habitation module, yet, it will feature a functional pressurized volume providing sufficient command, control and data handling capabilities, energy storage and power distribution, thermal control, communications and tracking capabilities, two axial and up to two radial docking ports, stowage volume, environmental control and life support systems to augment the Orion spacecraft and support a crew of four for at least 30 days.

Gateway as of October 2020 which includes European, Japanese, and Russian modules

In March 2020, Doug Loverro, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations at that time, removed the Gateway construction from the 2024 critical path in order to clear up funding for the HLS. He stated that the PPE could face delays and that moving it back to 2026 would allow for a more refined vehicle. It is also worth noting that the international partners on the Gateway would not have their modules ready until 2026. It was made a requirement that all Human Landing System proposals would be capable of free flight without the Gateway.

On 30 April 2020, a key to NASA's vision for a "sustainable" crew presence on or near the Moon, the Gateway station, was announced to be optional, rather than required, in mission planning. NASA officials originally hoped the Gateway would be in position near the Moon in time for the Artemis 3 mission in 2024, allowing elements of the lunar lander to be assembled, or aggregated, at the Gateway before the arrival of astronauts on an Orion crew capsule. Jim Bridenstine told Spaceflight Now, the Artemis 3 mission will no longer go through the Gateway, but NASA is not backing away from the program.

In late October 2020, NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) finalized their agreement to collaborate in the Gateway program. ESA will provide a habitat module in partnership with JAXA (iHab) and a refueling module (ESPRIT). In return Europe will have three flight opportunities to launch crew aboard the Orion crew capsule, which they will provide the service module for.

Dragon XL

On 27 March 2020, SpaceX revealed the Dragon XL resupply spacecraft designed to carry pressurized and unpressurized cargo, experiments and other supplies to NASA's planned Gateway under a NASA Gateway Logistics Services (GLS) contract. The equipment delivered by Dragon XL missions could include sample collection materials, spacesuits and other items astronauts may need on the Gateway and on the surface of the Moon, according to NASA. It will launch on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch vehicle from pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Dragon XL is planned to stay at the Gateway for six to 12 months at a time when research payloads inside and outside the cargo vessel could be operated remotely, even when crews are not present. Its payload capacity is expected to be more than 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) to lunar orbit. Unlike previous Dragon variants, the spacecraft will not be reusable and will instead be built solely for transporting cargo. It will act as the United States' logistics vehicle.

Landers

Human Landing System

The Human Landing System, if fully funded and supported over the next several years, could result in crewed missions to the lunar surface beginning with the Artemis 3 mission as early as 2024.

In April 2020, NASA awarded US$967 million in design development funding to Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX to begin a 10-month-long design process. The companies/teams selected in the 2020 design awards were the "National Team" — led by Blue Origin and partners Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, with US$579 million in NASA design funding; Dynetics, including SNC and other unspecified companies, with US$253 million in NASA funding; and SpaceX with a modified Starship second stage design called Starship HLS, with US$135 million in NASA design funding.

Although the HLS initial design phase had at first been planned to be a ten-month program, ending in February 2021, NASA delayed the selection process and announcement by two months. NASA planned to select up to two contractors at the end of the 12-month design development program.

In the end, NASA selected only one lander — Starship HLS. On 16 April 2021, SpaceX was awarded a contract, valued at US$2.89 billion, to develop the Starship HLS lander and to provide two operational lunar missions — one uncrewed demonstration mission, and one crewed lunar landing — as early as 2025. The Blue Origin bid to NASA had been US$5.99 billion for the Integrated Lander Vehicle development plus two lunar flights.

On 26 April 2021, both Blue Origin and Dynetics filed legal challenges with the US Government Accountability Office claiming that NASA had improperly evaluated aspects of the proposals. On 30th April 2021, NASA suspended the Starship HLS contract and funding until the GAO has reached a ruling on the legal challenges.

Company	Vehicles	Participation	Status
SpaceX	Starship HLS, a fully integrated lander that would use a Lunar design variation of the upper stage of the SpaceX Starship, would launch using the Super Heavy booster and then serve as its own second stage to complete the ascent to low-Earth orbit (LEO). On orbit, it would be refueled before climbing out to lunar orbit to meet the Gateway and Orion crew capsule. It was chosen to transport two NASA Artemis 3 astronauts along with cargo to and from the lunar surface, each time it lands on the moon.	Proposal Design Award Option A Finalist	Selected
"National Team" Blue Origin (lead), Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman	The Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV), a three-element lunar lander (transfer, descent, and ascent elements) that is intended to be launched via either New Glenn and ULA Vulcan Centaur launch vehicles, would be assembled in lunar orbit.	Proposal Design Award	Selected for design phase; Not selected for development funding
Dynetics	The Dynetics Human Landing System (DHLS), a single structure providing both lunar ascent and descent capabilities, would launch on either the ULA Vulcan Centaur or NASA's Space Launch System.	Proposal Design Award	Selected for design phase; Not selected for development funding
Boeing	The Boeing Lunar Lander was a HLS proposal submitted by Boeing in November 2019. The lander consisted of a descent and ascent stage. The lander was intended to be launched on an SLS Block 1B rather than assembled in multiple launches.	Proposal	Not selected
Vivace	The Vivace HLS proposal was a two stage lunar landing vehicle that could transport astronauts to and from the lunar surface. It had an appearance similar to the Altair LSAM.	Proposal	Not selected

Starship HLS

Artist's concept of Starship HLS, selected by NASA to land humans on the Moon.

The Starship Human Landing System (Starship HLS) was the winner selected by NASA for potential use for long-duration crewed lunar landings as part of NASA's Artemis program.

The Starship HLS is a modified configuration of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft, optimized to operate on and around the Moon. As a result, the heat shield and air-brakes — integral parts of the main Starship design — are not included in Starship HLS. The variant will use high-thrust methalox RCS thrusters located mid-body on Starship HLS during the final "tens of meters" of the terminal lunar descent and landing, and will be powered by a solar array located on its nose below the docking port. Elon Musk stated that Starship HLS would be able to deliver "potentially up to 200 tons" to the lunar surface.

Starship HLS would be launched to Earth orbit using the SpaceX Super Heavy booster, and would use a series of tanker spacecraft to refuel the Starship HLS vehicle for lunar transit and lunar landing operations. In the mission concept, a NASA Orion spacecraft would carry a NASA crew to the lander where they would depart and descend to the surface of the Moon. After lunar surface operations, Starship HLS would liftoff from the lunar surface and return the crew to Orion.

Unselected proposals

Integrated Lander Vehicle

The Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV) or National Human Landing System (NHLS) was a lunar lander design concept proposed by the "National Team" which is led by Blue Origin, along with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper Laboratory as major partners.

The main selling point of the lander was that all the components have been in development in one form or another for some time. The transfer stage is based on the Cygnus spacecraft, the Blue Moon will be used as the descent stage, and the ascent stage will be based on the Orion spacecraft.. It was to be launched in three parts on either the New Glenn and Vulcan Centaur but could also be launched on a single SLS Block 1B.

In the 28 April 2020 HLS source selection statement, NASA stated that the vehicle passes all requirements but faces risks with its power, propulsion, and communications systems which pose a significant risk to the developmental timeline.

Dynetics ALPACA HLS

The Dynetics ALPACA (Autonomous Logistics Platform for All-Moon Cargo Access) Human Landing System design concept was proposed by Dynetics and Sierra Nevada Corporation as well as a number of subcontractors. The vehicle design consists of a single-stage lander powered by methalox engines, although a previous design used drop tanks. ALPACA was proposed to launch on a Vulcan Centaur or SLS Block 1B rocket, and be refueled by up to three Vulcan Centaur tanker flights. Ultimately, NASA did not select the proposal, citing negative mass margins and an experimental thrust structure, which could pose threat to development time.

Boeing HLS

The Boeing Human Landing System proposal was submitted to NASA in early November 2019. The two-stage lander was designed to launch on a single SLS Block 1B. Boeing had partnered with Intuitive Machines to provide engines, and also planned to reuse technologies from their Starliner spacecraft. An alternative plan for launching the lander was also detailed: In the event the SLS Block 1B was not ready by 2024, the descent stage could launch on an SLS Block 1 while the ascent stage would be launched by a commercial launcher and assembled in lunar orbit. The Boeing proposal was not selected for design funding by NASA in the April 2020 design funding announcements.

Vivace HLS

The Vivace Human Landing System was a lunar landing concept by aerospace firm Vivace. Little is known about the vehicle other than its resemblance to NASA's Altair lunar lander from the Constellation program. Only one image of the lander can be found on their website's gallery page Vivace's concept was not selected for design funding.

Commissioned HLS studies

In May 2019, NASA announced 11 contracts worth US$45.5 million in total for studies on transfer vehicles, descent elements, descent element prototypes, refueling element studies and prototypes. One of the requirements is that selected companies will have to contribute at least 20% of the total cost of the project "to reduce costs to taxpayers and encourage early private investments in the lunar economy.

Company	Contract
Aerojet Rocketdyne	One transfer vehicle study.
Blue Origin	One descent element study, one transfer vehicle study, and one transfer vehicle prototype.
Boeing	One descent element study, two descent element prototypes, one transfer vehicle study, one transfer vehicle prototype, one refueling element study, and one refueling element prototype.
Dynetics	One descent element study and five descent element prototypes.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems	One descent element study, four descent element prototypes, one transfer vehicle study, and one refueling element study.
Masten Space Systems	One descent element prototype.
Maxar (formerly SSL)	One refueling element study and one refueling element prototype.
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems	One descent element study, four descent element prototypes, one refueling element study, and one refueling element prototype.
OrbitBeyond	Two refueling element prototypes.
Sierra Nevada Corporation	One descent element study, one descent element prototype, one transfer vehicle study, one transfer vehicle prototype, and one refueling element study.
SpaceX	One descent element study, one descent element prototype.

The Advanced Exploration Lander, used as a stand-in while HLS designs are finalized

Advanced Exploration Lander

The Advanced Exploration Lander is a three-stage lander concept used as a design reference for commercial proposals. As proposed, after departure from the Gateway, a transfer module would take the crew to a low lunar orbit and then separate, after which the descent module would handle the rest of the journey to the lunar surface. A crew of up to four could spend up to two weeks on the surface before reboarding the ascent module, which would take them back to the Gateway. Each module would have a mass of approximately 12 to 15 metric tons and would be delivered separately by commercial launchers and integrated at the Gateway. The astronauts would board the lander at the Gateway's near-rectilinear halo orbit that goes between about 1,000 and 70,000 kilometers (620 and 43,500 miles) above the Moon, with the circular low orbit about 100 kilometers (62 miles) high. Both the ascent and transfer modules could be designed to be reused, with the descent module left on the lunar surface.

HERACLES

HERACLES (Human-Enhanced Robotic Architecture and Capability for Lunar Exploration and Science) is a planned ESA-JAXA-CSA space cargo transport system that will feature a robotic lunar lander called European Large Logistic Lander (EL3), which can be configured for different operations such as up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) of payload, sample-returns, or prospecting resources found on the Moon. ESA approved the project in November 2019. Its first mission is envisioned for launch in the mid to late 2020s aboard an Ariane 64.

The EL3 lander will be launched directly to the Moon and will have a landing mass of approximately 1,800 kg (4,000 lb). It will be capable of transporting a Canadian robotic rover to explore, prospect potential resources, and load samples up to 15 kg (33 lb) on the ascent module. The rover would then traverse several kilometers across the Schrödinger basin on the far side of the Moon to explore and collect more samples to load on the next EL3 lander. The ascent module would return each time to the Gateway, where it would be captured by the Canadian robotic arm and samples transferred to an Orion spacecraft for transport to Earth with returning astronauts.

Astronauts

On 10 January 2020, NASA's 22nd astronaut group, nicknamed the "Turtles", graduated and were assigned to the Artemis program. The group includes two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts. The group earned their nickname from the prior astronaut group, "The 8-Balls", as is a tradition dating back to "The Mercury Seven" in 1962 which subsequently provided the "Next Nine" with their nickname. They were given this name, for the most part, because of Hurricane Harvey. Some of the astronauts will fly on the Artemis missions to the Moon and may be part of the first crew to fly to Mars.

On 9 December 2020, Vice President Pence announced a group of 18 astronauts, the Artemis team, who could be selected as astronauts of Expedition 1 of Artemis missions:

• Joe Acaba
• Kayla Barron
• Raja Chari
• Matthew Dominick
• Victor Glover
• Warren Hoburg
• Jonny Kim
• Christina Koch
• Kjell Lindgren
• Nicole Mann
• Anne McClain
• Jessica Meir
• Jasmin Moghbeli
• Kathleen Rubins
• Frank Rubio
• Scott Tingle
• Jessica Watkins
• Stephanie Wilson

Planned surface operations

An artist's rendition of an Artemis astronaut wearing the xEMU spacesuit and xPLS life support backpack during an EVA on the Moon.

As of February 2020, a lunar stay during a Phase 1 Artemis mission will be about seven days and will have five extravehicular activities (EVA). A notional concept of operations (i.e., a hypothetical but possible plan) would include the following: On Day 1 of the stay, astronauts touchdown on the Moon but do not conduct an EVA. Instead, they prepare for the EVA scheduled for the next day in what is referred to as "The Road to EVA". On Day 2, the astronauts open the hatch on the Human Landing System and embark on EVA 1 which will be six hours long. It will include collecting a contingency sample, conducting public affairs activities, deploying the experiment package, and acquiring samples. The astronauts will stay close to the landing site on this first EVA. EVA 2 begins on day 3. The astronauts characterize and collect samples from permanently shadowed regions. Unlike the previous EVA, the astronauts will go further from the landing site, up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), and up and down slopes of 20°. Day 4 will not include an EVA but Day 5 will. EVA 3 may include activities such as collecting samples from an ejecta blanket. Day 6 will have the two astronauts deploy a geotechnical instrument alongside an environmental monitoring station for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Day 7 will have the final and shortest EVA; this EVA will only last one hour rather than the others' six hours in duration from egress to ingress and mostly comprises preparations for the lunar liftoff, including jettisoning hardware. Once the final EVA is concluded, the astronauts will return into the Human Landing System and the vehicle will launch from the surface and join up with Orion/Gateway.

A render of the Artemis Base Camp

Artemis Base Camp

Artemis Base Camp is the prospective lunar base that was proposed to be established at the end of the 2020s. It would consist of three main modules: the Foundational Surface Habitat, the Habitable Mobility Platform, and the Lunar Terrain Vehicle. It would support missions of up to two months and be used to study technologies to use on Mars. The idea would be to build upon this initial base site for decades through both Government and commercial programs. Currently Shackleton Crater is the prime target for this outpost due to its wide variety of lunar geography and water ice. It would fall under the guidelines of the Outer Space Treaty.

Foundational Surface Habitat

A render of the Foundational Surface Habitat

Little is known about the surface outpost with most information coming from studies and launch manifests that include its launch. It would be commercially built and possibly commercially launched in 2028 along with the Mobile Habitat. The first habitat is referred to as the Artemis Foundation Habitat formerly the Artemis Surface Asset. Current launch plans show that landing it on the surface would be similar to the HLS. The pressurized habitat would be sent to the Gateway where it would then be attached to a descent stage separately launched from a commercial launcher, it would utilize the same transfer stage used for the HLS. Other designs from 2019 see it being launched from an SLS Block 1B as a single unit and landing directly on the surface. It would then be hooked up to a surface power system launched by a CLPS mission and tested by the Artemis 6 crew. The location of the base would be in the south pole region and most likely be a site visited by prior crewed and robotic missions.

Habitable Mobility Platform

NASA Habitable Mobility Platform based on the post Constellation Space Exploration Vehicle.

The Habitable Mobility Platform would be a large pressurized rover used to transport crews across large distances. NASA has developed multiple pressurized rovers including the Space Exploration Vehicle built for the Constellation program which was fabricated and tested. In the 2020 flight manifest it was referred to as the Mobile Habitat suggesting it could fill a similar role to the ILREC Lunar Bus. It would be ready for the crew to use on the surface but could also be autonomously controlled from the Gateway or other locations. Mark Kirasich, who is the acting director of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems, has stated that the current plan is to partner with JAXA and Toyota to develop a closed cabin rover to support crews for up to 14 days. "It's very important to our leadership at the moment to involve JAXA in a major surface element", he said. "... The Japanese, and their auto industry, have a very strong interest in rover-type things. So there was an idea to — even though we have done a lot of work — to let the Japanese lead development of a pressurized rover. So right now, that's the direction we're heading in". In regards to the SEV, Senior Lunar Scientist Clive Neal said "Under Constellation NASA had a sophisticated rover put together, It's pretty sad if it's never going to get to the Moon". but also said that he understands the different scopes of the Constellation Program and Artemis Program and the focus on international collaboration.

Lunar Terrain Vehicle

NASA's baseline Lunar Terrain Vehicle

In February 2020, NASA released two requests for information regarding both a crewed and uncrewed unpressurized surface rover. The LTV would be propositioned by a CLPS vehicle before the Artemis 3 mission. It would be used to transport crews around the exploration site. It would serve a similar function as the Apollo Lunar Rover. In July 2020, NASA will move to formally establish a program office for the rover at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

VIPER

NASA's VIPER rover

The VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a lunar rover by NASA planned to be delivered to the surface of the Moon as early as December 2022. The rover will be tasked with prospecting for lunar resources in permanently shadowed areas in the lunar south pole region, especially by mapping the distribution and concentration of water ice. The mission builds on a previous NASA rover concept called Resource Prospector, which was cancelled in 2018.

The VIPER rover is part of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program managed by the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and it is meant to support the crewed Artemis program. NASA's Ames Research Center is managing the rover project. The hardware for the rover is being designed by the Johnson Space Center, while the instruments are provided by Ames Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Honeybee Robotics. The project manager is Daniel Andrews, and the project scientist is Anthony Colaprete, who is implementing the technology developed for the now cancelled Resource Prospector rover. The estimated cost of the mission is US$250 million.

The VIPER rover will operate at a south pole region yet to be determined. VIPER is planned to rove several kilometers, collecting data on different kinds of soil environments affected by light and temperature — those in complete darkness, occasional light, and in constant sunlight. Once it enters a permanently shadowed location, it will operate on battery power alone and will not be able to recharge them until it drives to a sunlit area. Its total operation time will be approximately 100 Earth days.

Both the launcher and the lander to be used will be competitively provided through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contractors. NASA is aiming at landing the rover as early as December 2022.

Space suits

xEMU suit for lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA)

 

OCSS suit for launch and reentry

The Artemis program will make use of two space suits revealed in October 2019: the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), and the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS).

Artemis flights

The Orion capsule in the Pacific Ocean, following the Exploration Flight Test-1 mission

Orion testing

Five uncrewed test launches of the Orion spacecraft have been conducted prior to the launch of Artemis 1. The first was the MLAS Pad Abort Test of the Max Launch Abort System with a boilerplate Orion capsule on 8 July 2009. The second test launch was the Ares I-X Development Flight Test including an instrumented boilerplate Orion capsule on 28 October 2009. The third, Pad Abort-1, was a successful test of Orion's launch escape system using a boilerplate capsule on 6 May 2010. The fourth test launch of Orion was Exploration Flight Test-1 on 5 December 2014, in which a prototype version of the Orion spacecraft was launched atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket, and its reaction control system and other components were tested during two medium Earth orbits reaching an apogee of 5,800 km (3,600 mi) and crossing the Van Allen radiation belts before making a high-energy reentry at 32,000 km/h (20,000 mph). The fifth and final test of Orion prior to Artemis 1 was Ascent Abort-2 on 2 July 2019, a follow-up to Pad Abort-1, which tested the final iteration of the launch abort system on a 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) Orion boilerplate at maximum aerodynamic load, using a custom Minotaur IV-derived launch vehicle built by Orbital ATK.

Orion development test flights

Mission	Patch	Launch	Launch vehicle	Outcome	Duration
MLAS Pad Abort Test		8 July 2009, 10:26 UTC Wallops LA-1B	Max Launch Abort System	Success	1 minute
Ares I-X Development Flight Test		28 October 2009, 15:30 UTC Kennedy LC-39B	Ares I-X	Success	6 minutes
Pad Abort-1		6 May 2010, 13:03 UTC White Sands LC-32E	Orion Launch Abort System	Success	1 minute, 35 seconds
Exploration Flight Test-1		5 December 2014, 12:05 UTC Cape Canaveral SLC-37	Delta IV Heavy (Delta 369)	Success	4 hours, 25 minutes
Ascent Abort-2		2 July 2019, 11:00 UTC Cape Canaveral SLC-46	Orion Abort Test Booster (Peacekeeper/Minotaur IV first stage)	Success	3 minutes, 13 seconds

Planned missions

As of December 2020, all crewed Artemis missions will be launched on the Space Launch System from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B. Current plans call for some supporting hardware to be launched on other vehicles and from other launch pads.

Mission	Patch	Launch date	Crew	Launch vehicle	Duration
Artemis I		4 November 2021	N/A	SLS Block 1 Crew	≈25 days
Artemis II		August 2023	TBA	SLS Block 1 Crew	≈10 days
Artemis III		October 2024	TBA	SLS Block 1 Crew	≈30 days

Proposed missions

A proposal curated by William H. Gerstenmaier before his 10 July 2019 reassignment suggested four launches of the SLS Block 1B launch vehicle with crewed Orion spacecraft and logistics modules to the Gateway between 2024 and 2028. The crewed Artemis IV through IX would launch yearly between 2025 and 2030, testing in situ resource utilization and nuclear power on the lunar surface with a partially reusable lander. Artemis VII would deliver in 2028 a crew of four astronauts to a Surface lunar outpost known as the Foundation Habitat along with the Mobile Habitat. The Foundation Habitat would be launched back to back with the Mobile Habitat by an undetermined super heavy launcher and would be used for extended crewed lunar surface missions. Prior to each crewed Artemis mission, various payloads to the Gateway, such as refueling depots and expendable elements of the lunar lander, would be deployed by commercial launch vehicles. The most updated manifest simply includes missions suggested in NASA's timelines that have not been designed or funded from Artemis IV-IX.

Mission	Launch date	Crew	Launch vehicle	Duration
Artemis IV	March 2026	TBA	SLS Block 1B Crew	≈30 days
Artemis V	2026	TBA	SLS Block 1B Crew	≈30 days
Artemis VI	2027	TBA	SLS Block 1B Crew	≈30 days
Artemis VII	2028	TBA	SLS Block 1B Crew	≈30 days
Artemis VIII	2029	TBA	SLS Block 2 Crew	≈60 days
Artemis IX	2030	TBA	SLS Block 2 Crew	≈60 days

Support missions

Artemis support missions are robotic missions flown through both the CLPS program and Gateway program.

Date	Mission objective	Mission name	Launch vehicle	Outcome
Q3 2021	NRHO Pathfinder mission CAPSTONE	CAPSTONE	Electron	Planned
Q4 2021	First launch of the Peregrine 1 lunar lander by Astrobotic	Peregrine 1	Vulcan Centaur	Planned
Q1 2022	First launch of the Nova-C lunar lander by Intuitive Machines	IM-1	Falcon 9	Planned
December 2022	Tools for mapping the lunar surface temperature, radiation, and hydrogen delivered by Masten Space Systems	XL-1	Falcon 9	Planned
Q4 2022	ISRU tech demonstration converting lunar ice to H2O using Intuitive Machines Nova-C	PRIME-1	Falcon 9	Planned
2023	Fuel Cells Demo 1 delivered to surface via CLPS lander	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
November 2023	Delivery of NASA's VIPER rover on the Griffin lunar lander to the lunar surface by Astrobotic Technology	VIPER	Falcon Heavy	Planned
May 2024	Launch of the assembled integration of the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) of the Gateway	Artemis support mission	Falcon Heavy	Planned
2024	Delivery of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle ahead of Artemis III	Artemis Support Mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2024	Delivery of ascent element for Artemis III	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2024	Delivery of transfer element for Artemis III	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2024	Delivery of descent element for Artemis III	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2024	ISRU Subsystems, lunar regolith to O2, performed by crew on surface	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2025	(Proposed) delivery of expendable ascent element for Artemis IV	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2025	(Proposed) delivery of expendable descent element for Artemis IV	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2025	(Proposed) delivery of expendable transfer element for Artemis IV	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2025	Fuel Cells Demo 2	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2026	Delivery of JAXA / ESA iHAB to the Gateway	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2026	(Proposed) delivery of reusable ascent element for Artemis V	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2026	(Proposed) delivery of reusable transfer element for Artemis V	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2026	(Proposed) delivery of descent element for Artemis V	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2027	Delivery of ESPRIT Refueling Module (ERM)	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2027	(Proposed) refueling of ascent element for Artemis VI	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2027	(Proposed) refueling of transfer element for Artemis VI	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2027	(Proposed) delivery of descent module for Artemis VI	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2027	Cryo Fluid Management Systems	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2027	Surface power crew demonstration mission	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Planned
2028	(Proposed) delivery of a Gateway station module	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2028	(Proposed) refueling of ascent element for Artemis VII	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2028	(Proposed) refueling of transfer element for Artemis VII	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2028	(Proposed) delivery of descent module for Artemis VII	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2028	(Proposed) delivery of the Foundation Habitat to the lunar south pole	Artemis support mission	Space Launch System Block 1B / 2	Proposed
2028	(Proposed) delivery of the JAXA closed cabin rover to the lunar south pole	Artemis support mission	Space Launch System Block 1B / 2	Proposed
2029	(Proposed) refueling of ascent element for Artemis VIII	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2029	(Proposed) refueling of transfer element for Artemis VIII	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2029	(Proposed) delivery of descent module for Artemis VIII	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2030	(Proposed) refueling of ascent element for Artemis IX	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2030	(Proposed) refueling of transfer element for Artemis IX	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed
2030	(Proposed) delivery of descent module for Artemis IX	Artemis support mission	Commercial launch vehicle	Proposed

Criticism

The Artemis program has received criticisms from several space professionals.

Mark Whittington, who is a contributor to The Hill and an author of several space exploration studies, stated in an article that the "lunar orbit project doesn't help us get back to the Moon".

Aerospace engineer, author, and Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin has voiced his distaste for the Gateway which is part of the Artemis program as of 2020. He presented an alternative approach to a 2024 crewed lunar landing called "Moon Direct", a successor to his proposed Mars Direct. His vision phases out the SLS and Orion, replacing them with the SpaceX launch vehicles and SpaceX Dragon 2. It also proposes using a heavy ferry/lander that would be refueled on the lunar surface via in situ resource utilization and transfer the crew from LEO to the lunar surface. The concept bears a heavy resemblance to NASA's own Space Transportation System proposal from the 1970s.

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin disagrees with NASA's current goals and priorities, including their plans for a lunar outpost. He also questioned the benefit of the idea to "send a crew to an intermediate point in space, pick up a lander there and go down". However, Aldrin expressed support for Robert Zubrin's Moon Direct concept which involves lunar landers traveling from Earth orbit to the lunar surface and back.

House Authorization Bill of 2020

The leadership of the House Science Committee introduced a bipartisan NASA authorization bill on 24 January 2020 that would significantly alter NASA's current plans to return humans to the Moon and rather would focus on a Mars orbital mission in 2033. Bill H.R. 5666 would change the lunar landing date from 2024 to 2028 and put the program as a whole underneath a larger space exploration plan. The bill became stuck in the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and there were no committee votes or further action for the remainder of the congressional term. Major proposed changes included:

• Creation of a new Moon to Mars program office with a goal of landing humans on Mars "in a sustainable manner as soon as practicable"
• A 2028 target date for a lunar landing to allow the technology to mature
• A NASA developed expendable Human Landing System (HLS), something along the line of the Advanced Exploration Lander or the expendable Altair design
• An integrated Orion / HLS system launching on a single Space Launch System Block 1B, similar to the Saturn / Apollo combination possibly using the Boeing HLS design
• The requirement of one uncrewed and one crewed test flight of the HLS before a lunar landing is attempted, something not currently required
• Once operational, the system would perform two lunar landings a year rather than one
• No base would be set up on the lunar surface rather, the missions would follow the "flag and footsteps" approach of Apollo
• Development of the Gateway as a separate program to test Mars transportation technologies and not be required for lunar operations
• ISRU technologies would be managed under a program separate from the Moon to Mars campaign and not be required for either mission
• International Space Station funding would be extended to 2030

Many of these changes such as uncrewed HLS test flights and the development of the Gateway as no longer essential to Artemis were implemented into the current timeline.