Still going 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Yesterday's re-post is more than five years old, so there may have been tweaks in the plan since we first looked at it. The latest description of the Artemis Program (image) on NASA's website reflects a up-to-date overview.

The plan consists of four missions. Artemis 1 was completed in December of 2022, confirming that NASA has a "foundational deep-space transportation system" that really works, that can be relied on to carry out the rest of the missions.

People won't actually walk on the Moon until the third mission, Artemis 3. Two members of the crew of four will explore the lunar South Pole region for a week. So far, it's scheduled for some time in 2028. The mission is expected to last about 30 days.

Then there's the far more complicated fourth mission, Artemis 4. A new lunar space station will be assembled from modules brought by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Astronauts will live and work there in orbit, performing multiple ground launches and experiments.

But before #3 and #4, there will be the second mission, Artemis 2 . . and that's going to launch next month.

from NASA