Current Artemis Launch Schedule and Mission Overview
NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon, with the first crewed mission, Artemis II, targeted for no earlier than September 2025, pending final readiness reviews and integrated testing milestones NASA Artemis. The mission will use the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida SpaceX Launch Manifest. The uncrewed Artemis I flight successfully demonstrated the SLS and Orion in a 25.5-day lunar orbit and return profile in late 2022, validating key systems for crewed flight Forbes Science.
Artemis II will carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby trajectory, testing life support, navigation, and communication systems beyond low Earth orbit for approximately 10 days NASA Artemis. The crew will ride atop a Block 1 configuration of the SLS, which stands about 322 feet tall and generates 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff SpaceX Launch Manifest. Launch readiness depends on completion of the Exploration Ground Systems mobile launcher integration, countdown rehearsals, and a flight readiness review with the Launch Services Program.
Key Hardware, Partners, and Launch Infrastructure
The SLS core stage is built by Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, while the Exploration Upper Stage is under development for future Artemis missions NASA Artemis. Orion is built by Lockheed Martin, with European Service Modules provided by Airbus, and the launch abort system by Lockheed Martin Forbes Science. Ground operations are managed by Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center, using the Vehicle Assembly Building and Mobile Launcher 1 for integration and rollout.
Launch services for the SLS are provided by NASA's Launch Services Program, with the rocket integrated vertically in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building SpaceX Launch Manifest. The crawler-transporter moves the assembled rocket to Launch Pad 39B, a process that takes several hours and is followed by terminal countdown procedures NASA Artemis. Recovery operations for the Orion capsule after splashdown are coordinated with the U.S. Navy and involve specialized ships and helicopter assets.
Mission Phases, Trajectory, and Future Artemis Flights
Artemis II will follow a free-return trajectory, flying beyond the Moon at a distance of roughly 4,600 miles from the lunar surface before returning to Earth NASA Artemis. The mission profile includes a powered descent to the lunar sphere of influence, a close lunar flyby, and a high-speed reentry at approximately 24,500 miles per hour to test Orion's heat shield Forbes Science. Data from Artemis II will inform the crewed lunar landing mission, Artemis III, which requires a human landing system currently in development under the Artemis contracts.
NASA has awarded Human Landing System contracts to SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics for initial demonstration flights, with SpaceX's Starship variant selected for the first crewed lunar landing attempt SpaceX Launch Manifest. Subsequent Artemis missions