Going back to the moon

ARTEMIS AND A NEW DAWN OF LUNAR EXPLORATION

- 

When Neil Armstrong took his iconic first steps on the lunar surface, it was a defining moment of the 20th Century and beckoned a new age of space travel. But those ambitions were never quite realised, and after just six crewed missions, humans never went back to the moon. That's all about to change. Scientists continue to uncover amazing insights about the moon, with upcoming missions aiming to reveal even more. And NASA wants boots on the ground, embarking on an ambitious series of lunar missions through the Artemis programme, which it hopes will provide scientific discoveries, economic opportunities and inspiration for a new generation.

THE ARTEMIS ROCKET 

Space Landing System (SLS)

Every mission will start with NASA's SLS; the world's most powerful rocket. It's only been used once so far, during Artemis I, but will transport both cargo and crew throughout the duration of the Artemis programme.

THE ARTEMIS SPACECRAFT

The Orion

This partially reusable, next-generation capsule can transport a crew of four astronauts into space, sustain them during their journey to and from the moon and provide safe re-entry back to Earth.

MOON MAP KEY

The map displays notable lunar landmarks, as well as every spacecraft to land on the moon's surface."

MOON LANDMARK 

• APOLLO (1961-1972)
  NASA's Apollo missions delivered 24 humans to the lunar surface.
• LUNA (1959-1976)
  The Soviet Union's Luna missions achieved many firsts in space exploration.