The Trump administration wants to get humans back to the Moon — fast. In April of 2019, Vice President Mike Pence challenged NASA with putting people on the lunar surface by 2024, a deadline just five years away. NASA accepted and has since named this ambitious initiative Artemis — a nod to the Greek goddess and twin sister of Apollo, whose name was given to NASA’s first program to send humans to the Moon.
This time around, NASA wants things to be different. The goal of Artemis is to create a sustainable presence near the Moon, instead of just sending humans to plant flags and make footprints. The agency also aims to send the first woman to the Moon through the Artemis program.
The odds are stacked against NASA’s lofty goals. The agency has a whole lot of new hardware to build over the next five years, and it still doesn’t have a firm budget from Congress. If the agency doesn’t get that funding, the 2024 deadline could easily slip away. But even if the money does come through, NASA doesn’t have a great reputation for meeting deadlines, either. There’s no room for error, and it’s unclear if NASA has the ability to navigate the political and technical risks to pull this off.
Nov 15, 2022
How to watch NASA’s Artemis I SLS megarocket launch
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming launch
Aug 31, 2022
NASA moves next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to September 3rd
The new launch date will be Saturday instead of Friday
Apr 9, 2021
NASA seeks to put first person of color on the Moon in Artemis mission
A new first for the next lunar landing
Dec 18, 2020
NASA will fly Orion deep-space crew capsule ‘as is,’ despite failed component
The agency claims there is enough redundancy in the system
Dec 16, 2020
A Canadian astronaut will fly around the Moon on the first crewed mission of NASA’s new rocket
A result of NASA and CSA agreeing to collaborate on building the Lunar Gateway
Dec 9, 2020
At his last Space Council meeting, Mike Pence announces new cadre of lunar astronauts
Though no flight assignments have been made yet
Nov 30, 2020
Component failure in NASA’s deep-space crew capsule could take months to fix
Engineers are figuring out how to replace a failed power unit in Orion
Nov 10, 2020
Senate committee’s budget for lunar landers falls short of NASA request
NASA is going to get some funding for landers, just not the full amount it asked for
Nov 9, 2020
NASA administrator says he plans to leave position under Biden administration
Jim Bridenstine says the NASA administrator should be close with the president
Oct 26, 2020
Water ice on the Moon may be easier to reach than we thought, new studies claim
But there are still a lot of unknowns
Oct 13, 2020
US and seven other countries sign NASA’s Artemis Accords to set rules for exploring the Moon
NASA’s biggest partner, Russia, is not on the list
Oct 12, 2020
Head of Russian space program calls for more international cooperation in NASA’s Moon plans
Dmitry Rogozin thinks the current plan is too ‘US centric’
Sep 10, 2020
NASA wants to buy Moon rocks from private companies
Can you prove you’ve bagged lunar dirt? NASA will pay you
Jul 7, 2020
House budget bill denies major increases for NASA to fund ambitious Moon program
Coming up nearly $3 billion short
Jun 25, 2020
NASA wants to hear your ideas for engineering the best toilet to use on the Moon
Getting down to business on the lunar surface
May 15, 2020
NASA announces international Artemis Accords to standardize how to explore the Moon
Guidelines on how to work together on the lunar surface
Apr 30, 2020
NASA picks SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics to create landers to take humans to the Moon
The clock is ticking to 2024
Feb 10, 2020
The Trump administration calls for big budget increases for NASA to fund Moon-to-Mars program
Will Congress agree to the increase?
Jan 22, 2020
NASA administrator on the year ahead: ‘A lot of things have to go right’
Jim Bridenstine tells us what to expect for 2020
Jul 30, 2019
NASA to help SpaceX, Blue Origin, and more develop technologies for Moon and Mars travel
The agency is providing expertise at zero cost
Jul 29, 2019
This company says it has a lunar space suit that will be ready for NASA’s 2024 Moon mission
Collins Aerospace has a space outfit you can use
Jul 19, 2019
Trump repeatedly asks NASA administrator why we can’t go straight to Mars
“What about the concept of Mars direct?”
Jul 18, 2019
NASA’s daunting to-do list for sending people back to the Moon
The agency needs a finished rocket, a tiny space station, and a brand new lander
Jul 16, 2019
Apollo was NASA’s biggest win — but its legacy is holding the agency back
Why the space agency struggles to achieve its human spaceflight goals
Jul 12, 2019
NASA administrator on recent personnel shakeup: ‘There’s no turmoil at all’
Jim Bridenstine talks about what to expect in the months ahead
Jul 11, 2019
Head of NASA’s human exploration program demoted as agency pushes for Moon return
William Gerstenmaier is no longer leading the way
Jul 1, 2019
NASA is testing how its new deep-space crew capsule handles a rocket emergency
Can Orion keep future astronauts alive during a failed launch?
Jun 19, 2019
NASA’s future Moon rocket will probably be delayed and over budget yet again: audit
Déjà vu for SLS
Jun 14, 2019
NASA administrator says it will cost an extra $20 to $30 billion to send astronauts back to the Moon
Jim Bridenstine finally dished on the details
Jun 11, 2019
NASA administrator says ‘nothing has changed’ after Trump’s tweet about the Moon and Mars
‘The Moon is a waypoint’
May 17, 2019
NASA administrator on new Moon plan: ‘We’re doing this in a way that’s never been done before’
Jim Bridenstine goes into more detail on Artemis
May 15, 2019
The uphill battle NASA faces to sell its Moon plan to Congress
We’re only at the beginning
May 14, 2019
NASA’s initiative to put a woman on the Moon is named Artemis, after Apollo’s twin sister
Oh my goddess
May 13, 2019
White House wants $1.6 billion extra for NASA to accelerate astronaut return to the Moon
The cost of a lunar return
Apr 10, 2019
Lockheed Martin unveils lunar lander design to get humans to the Moon by 2024
The company says it needs resources for it, though
Apr 2, 2019
NASA is figuring out how much money it needs to meet a faster lunar return
A new budget amendment is on its way
Mar 26, 2019
Mike Pence tells NASA to accelerate human missions to the Moon ‘by any means necessary’
Though he didn’t specify how to speed things up
Aug 28, 2018
NASA’s planning to send people back to the Moon’s surface in about a decade
First, astronauts are scheduled to fly to a space station near the Moon by 2024
Dec 11, 2017
Trump wants NASA to send astronauts to the Moon — but how exactly?
Trump gestures vaguely at the Moon
