NASA announced updates to the Artemis program, including phased lunar landings, increased commercial involvement, and new nuclear propulsion missions to support sustainable Moon operations.

People may know Artemis as NASA’s return-to-the-Moon program. However, it is much more than a rerun of Project Apollo.

From Greek mythology to modern spaceflight, Artemis and her twin brother Apollo connect humanity's first lunar missions to the next era of exploration with Artemis 2 and beyond.

Why it matters: Artemis II is a critical test mission to shake down spacecraft systems, enabling a permanent human presence on the Moon and preparing for future missions to Mars. Free-return trajectory – a path that loops around the Moon and returns to Earth without propulsion

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Instead, that task will fall to Artemis 4, with Artemis 3 launching sooner with a ...