CALIFORNIA-(MaraviPost)-The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

NASA’s Artemis global Moon mission is led by the US space agency, aiming to return humans to the lunar surface within this decade, to build a long-term presence and test technology, using new spacecraft and international partnerships for future missions to Mars.

NASA’s Artemis program entered a major new phase, with the successful launch of Artemis II in April 2026—the first crewed mission toward the Moon in over 50 years.

The mission is carrying four astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, aboard the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day journey around the Moon, testing life-support systems, navigation and deep-space travel capabilities without landing.

This follows Artemis I (2022), an uncrewed test flight that proved the rocket and spacecraft could safely travel to the Moon and back.

So far, the key developments are:

Artemis II has successfully launched and is currently in progress, marking humanity’s return to deep space beyond Earth orbit

The mission is testing critical systems needed before astronauts can land on the Moon again

Future missions like Artemis III and IV are being prepared to land humans on the Moon and begin building a long-term presence .