When Will We Go Back? Two Years Since Artemis I

Humanity aims to step foot on the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

An image of the Moon and Earth taken by Orion during a close flyby of the lunar surface. Credit: NASA.

Last weekend marked two years since the launch of the first mission of the Artemis program, NASA’s sister to the famous Apollo missions. The uncrewed mission acted as a test flight for the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, which will launch and carry future astronauts to the Moon.

So what did Artemis I tell us about our readiness to go back to the Moon, and what is the next step?

What we learned

Artemis I had several objectives designed to test whether we are ready to send astronauts back to the Moon. Being the first integrated flight of NASA’s SLS rocket and the Orion Spacecraft, the main mission objectives were to test the durability of Orion and the effectiveness of the SLS as a launch vehicle.

The launch of Artemis I was also the inaugural launch of the SLS, which began development back in 2011 as the Space Shuttle program was retiring. The program has been considered somewhat controversial due to its high price point. This was especially notable given that it was created after shutting down a costly shuttle program. The SLS being an expensive replacement for an expensive program seemed to defeat the purpose of…