Editor’s Note: NASA is updating this webpage to align with the latest Artemis program updates announced in February and National Space Policy initiatives announced in March. Learn more about upcoming missions and the agency’s plans to advance Moon to Mars goals, including America’s return to the lunar surface.

Artemis Science

Through Artemis, NASA will address high priority science questions, focusing on those that are best accomplished by on-site human explorers on and around the Moon and Mars by using robotic surface and orbiting systems.

A Time Capsule

The Moon is a 4.5-billion-year-old time capsule, pristinely preserved by the cold vacuum of space. It is a witness to billions of years of solar activity and large collisions that allowed life to gain a foothold in the solar system.

The Moon holds clues to the evolution of Earth, the planets, the Sun, and even cosmic rays from across the galaxy.

The lunar South Pole is home to some of the oldest parts of the Moon, estimated to be 3.85 million years or older, and includes the margins of the largest and oldest impact basin in the solar system, South-Pole Aitken Basin.

Artemis II Science

The Artemis II mission will carry astronauts farther from Earth and closer to the Moon than any human has been in over half a century. From this unique vantage point and environment, the Artemis II crew will work with scientists on Earth to facilitate science investigations to inform future human spaceflight missions.

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In space. A rendering of the Orion orbiting vehicle, solar arrays outstretched, orbiting above the lunar surface. In the background, we can see Earth, very small.

Four astronauts will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The 10-day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, and the Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts.

NASA

Artemis III Science

Humanity's return to the lunar surface will enable investigation into the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon. Field geology, sample collection and return, and deployed experiments all are part of the necessary mix of work to advance scientific discovery at the Moon.

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NASA’s Artemis missions aim to establish a sustained lunar presence on and around the Moon. Communications and navigation technologies will be critical to enabling the safety, science, and operations of our astronauts and missions.

NASA