Gateway modules currently in development are: International partners such as the European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are working with NASA on the modules of Gateway. It will also be able to continue scientific research even between human lunar missions. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), Gateway won't be permanently occupied, but will serve as a platform where astronauts can live and undertake research for short periods. The Orion module will dock with Gateway, and from here the astronauts will transfer into the lunar landing module. It's designed to be a flexible platform for missions to the Moon and beyond. Gateway is a small space station that, once built, will orbit the Moon. Orion's crew, command and service modules | Source: NASA (June 2022)Įquipped with life support systems and shuttle interfaces, Orion is the command module needed to transport the astronauts through space.

Resources: the discovery of water on the Moon and potential deposits of rare minerals hold promise for both scientific and economic exploration and exploitation.Knowledge: as more is known about the Moon compared with 50 years ago (and technologies have greatly advanced), NASA claims that this next series of missions will be able to retrieve samples more strategically than during the Apollo era.Long-term presence: where the Apollo 17 crew spent three days on the lunar surface, Artemis aims to establish a base to extend the trips to weeks and possibly months.Partnerships: the Artemis programme is one of NASA's first large-scale collaborations with commercial companies such as SpaceX and Boeing.Technology: from rockets to spacesuits, the technologies currently being developed are designed to pave the way for future deep-space missions.Equality: to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface.

That means establishing bases both in lunar orbit and on the Moon's surface – although the primary goal for now still involves returning humans to the Moon by the middle of the decade. Instead its goal is to go to the Moon 'and stay there'. NASA is not simply aiming to repeat the feats of the Apollo missions with Artemis.

Mars lunar landing today