Artemis V is the fifth planned mission of NASA's

Artemis program The Artemis program is a Exploration of the Moon, Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program's stated long-ter ...

and the first crewed flight of the

Blue Moon A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects. The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...

lander. The mission will launch four astronauts on a

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, super heavy-lift Expendable launch system, expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis program, Artemis Moon landing progra ...

rocket and an

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

to the

Lunar Gateway The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is a planned space station which is to be assembled in orbit around the Moon. The Gateway is intended to serve as a communication hub, science laboratory, and habitation module for astronauts as part ...

and will be the third lunar landing of the Artemis program. In addition, Artemis V will also deliver two new elements to the Gateway Space Station.

Overview

Artemis V will launch four astronauts to the Lunar Gateway space station. The mission will deliver the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

's ESPRIT refueling and communications module and a Canadian-built robotic arm system for the Gateway. Also delivered will be NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle. After docking to the Gateway, two astronauts will board the

lunar lander and fly it down to the

Lunar south pole The lunar south pole is the southernmost point on the Moon. It is of interest to scientists because of the lunar water, occurrence of water ice in Crater of eternal darkness, permanently shadowed areas around it. The lunar south pole region fea ...

to land near the Lunar Terrain Vehicle. This will be the first lunar landing since

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

to use an unpressurized lunar rover. It is planned to have the two astronauts on the surface of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

for about one week where they will conduct science and exploration activities. , Artemis V is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 2030.

Spacecraft

Space Launch System

The Space Launch System is a super-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit.

Orion

Orion is the crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It will transport the crew from Earth to the Gateway orbit, and return them to Earth.

Gateway

Gateway is a small modular space station to be established in

Near-rectilinear halo orbit In orbital mechanics a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) is a halo orbit that passes close to the smaller of two astronomical object, bodies and has nearly stable behavior. The CAPSTONE mission, launched in 2022, is the first spacecraft to use ...

(NRHO) in late 2024. The first two Gateway elements will launch together aboard a

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket consists of a center core ...

rocket in late 2024. The I-Hab habitat module will be delivered by

Artemis IV Artemis IV is a planned mission of the NASA-led Artemis program. The mission is proposed to include the fourth use of a Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle, sending an Orion spacecraft with four astronauts to the Lunar Gateway space statio ...

Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander

The Blue Moon lander will transfer astronauts from the Gateway to the Lunar surface and back. Blue Origin will be the second provider to deliver Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface. NASA previously contracted SpaceX to develop and demonstrate the Starship Human Landing System. Blue Origin will design, develop, test, and verify its Blue Moon lander to meet NASA's human landing system requirements for recurring astronaut expeditions to the lunar surface. In addition to design and development work, the contract includes one uncrewed demonstration mission to the lunar surface and the crewed demo in 2030. The total award value of the contract is $3.4 billion.

Lunar Terrain Vehicle

The Lunar Terrain Vehicle is an unenclosed rover being developed by NASA that astronauts will drive on the Moon while wearing spacesuits.

References

External links

Orion website
at nasa.gov
Space Launch System website
at nasa.gov {{Future spaceflights 2029 in spaceflight Artemis program Crewed missions to the Moon Orion (spacecraft) Space Launch System 2029 in the United States Missions to the Moon Crewed spacecraft Future human spaceflights Lunar Gateway Spaceflight Space stations