NASA’s Lunar Exploration 

Program Overview

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

PLAN

September 2020
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Table of Contents

Key Artemis Contributions by NASA Center..........................................................6

Foreword by Jim Bridenstine................................................................................8

Introduction ..........................................................................................................9

Chapter 1: Setting Humanity on a Sustainable 

Course to the Moon ............................................................................................11

Chapter 2: Landing Humans on the Moon in 2024..............................................15

Chapter 3: Extending Lunar Missions and Preparing for Mars ...........................26

Summary ............................................................................................................30

APPENDIX 1: Artemis Science Strategy ..............................................................32

APPENDIX 2: Artemis Lunar Surface Technology Strategy .................................34

APPENDIX 3: Core Mission Elements ..................................................................36

APPENDIX 4: Artemis Flight Readiness ...............................................................42

APPENDIX 5: Artemis Plan Funding Requirements .............................................52

APPENDIX 6: NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration Development ..........56

APPENDIX 7: The Artemis Accords ......................................................................70
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Key Artemis Contributions by NASA Center

Suppliers and small businesses across America have made contributions to the success of 

NASA’s Artemis program, with private companies hard at work on innovations that will help 

establish a sustainable human presence at the Moon. The Artemis endeavor also extends 

beyond our borders.

These missions are critical to the space economy, fueling new industries and technologies, 

supporting job growth, and furthering the demand for a highly skilled workforce. 

For detailed information about NASA’s partners and where to find them, visit the Artemis 

partners map at www.nasa.gov/content/artemis-partners.
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Ames Research Center 

• Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) 

• Orion thermal protection system 

• Wind tunnel testing and computational analysis for SLS and 

commercial launch vehicles 

• Human-autonomous systems 

• Flight simulators 

Armstrong Flight Research Center 

• Orion flight test system integration 

• Orion abort test booster 

• Entry, descent, and landing demonstrations 

• Suborbital flight tests for lunar lander technologies 

Glenn Research Center 

• Gateway power and propulsion element lead 

• Orion European Service Module management and testing 

• Surface and spacecraft power (fission, radioisotope and 

solar) 

• Cognitive and Quantum Communications

• Cryogenic fluid management 

• In-situ resource utilization 

• Simulated in-space environmental testing 

• Plum Brook Station management 

Goddard Space Flight Center 

• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

• Astronaut science operations training

• Heliophysics, space weather, radiation, astronaut and 

hardware support

• Space communications and navigation

• In-space servicing and assembly

• Software and avionics

• Moon and Mars fundamental and applied science

• Wallops Flight Facility management

Headquarters 

• Agency stakeholder engagement 

• Directorate management and integration 

• Program/project formulation 

• Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative

Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

• Orion Systems Engineering & Integration 

• Independent validation of Orion thermal protection system 

and parachutes 

• Perseverance Rover: Robotic planetary sampling, spacesuit 

materials resilience 

• Gateway electric thruster development 

• Advanced spacecraft environmental monitoring 

• Terrain-Relative Navigation 

Johnson Space Center 

• Orion Program 

• Gateway Program 

• Gateway habitation and logistics outpost 

• Commercial Lunar Payload Services 

• Astronaut office 

• Mission Control Center 

• Flight operations and execution 

• Human health and performance, exploration medical 

capabilities 

• Exploration spacesuit (xEMU) development and first 

build 

• Lunar Terrain Vehicle 

• Precision landing/hazard avoidance 

• Lunar sample curation 

Kennedy Space Center 

• Exploration Ground Systems 

• Ground Processing, Launch, Landing, and Recovery 

Planning and Operations 

• Gateway Logistics Services 

• Launch Control Center 

• Commercial launch vehicle services and acquisition 

Langley Research Center 

• Orion Launch Abort System 

• Orion water impact testing 

• Navigation Doppler Lidar 

• Strategy, Architectures, and Systems Engineering 

• Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery for Artemis I 

launch and Orion reentry 

• Radiation protection 

Marshall Space Flight Center 

• Human Landing System Program 

• Space Launch System Program 

• SLS Core Stage development, construction, structural 

testing 

• SLS Core Stage Structural Testing 

• Artemis I secondary payloads 

• Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) and Orion Stage 

Adapter (OSA/MSA) 

• Industry habitation concept development 

• Michoud Assembly Facility management 

Stennis Space Center 

• SLS core stage testing 

• SLS RS-25 engine testing

As of September 2020
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Foreword by Jim Bridenstine

Pushing the boundaries of space exploration, science, and 

technology once again, America is on the verge of exploring more 

of the Moon than ever before. This new era of lunar exploration 

is called Artemis. Named after the twin sister of Apollo, she is the 

Goddess of the Moon, and we are the Artemis Generation.

NASA is building a coalition of partnerships with industry, 

nations and academia that will help us get to the Moon quickly 

and sustainably, together. Our work to catalyze the U.S. space 

economy with public-private partnerships has made it possible to 

accomplish more than ever before. The budget we need to achieve 

everything laid out in this plan represents bipartisan support from 

the Congress. 

Today, NASA is delivering more missions, more science, and more 

innovation at a better value for the American taxpayer than at any point in the agency’s history 

and with half the buying power than 1964, when Apollo development was at its peak. We thank the 

President, the Congress, the American taxpayers, and the emerging space industry for the combined 

efforts to strengthen our nation’s space program. 

Under the Artemis program, humanity will explore regions of the Moon never visited before, uniting 

people around the unknown, the never seen, and the once impossible. We will return to the Moon 

robotically beginning next year, send astronauts to the surface within four years, and build a longterm presence on the Moon by the end of the decade.

I am proud to share NASA’s Artemis Plan—this is how we will go to the Moon once again. And how 

we will use the Moon as the stepping stone for our next greatest leap—human exploration of Mars.

 We are going, and we go together. Ad lunam!

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
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Introduction 

America has entered a new era of exploration. NASA’s Artemis program will lead humanity forward to 

the Moon and prepare us for the next giant leap, the exploration of Mars. It has been almost 50 years 

since astronauts last walked on the lunar surface during the Apollo program, and since then the robotic 

exploration of deep space has seen decades of technological advancement and scientific discoveries. For 

the last 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station 

250 miles above Earth, preparing for the day we move farther into the solar system. 

Sending human explorers 250,000 miles to the Moon, then 140 million miles to Mars, requires a 

bold vision, effective program management, funding for modern systems development and mission 

operations, and support from all corners of our great nation as well as our partners across the globe. 

NASA has been fine-tuning the plan to achieve that bold vision since the president called on the 

agency in December 2017 to lead a human return to the Moon and beyond with commercial and 

international partners. Two years later, he challenged us yet again, this time to send the first woman 

and next man to the Moon within five years. NASA is implementing the Artemis program to achieve 

those goals, and this document lays out the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach explaining 

how we will do it. 

The Moon plan is twofold: it’s focused on achieving the goal of an initial human landing by 2024 

with acceptable technical risks, while simultaneously working toward sustainable lunar exploration 

in the mid- to late 2020s. 

2024 is not an arbitrary date. It is the most ambitious date possible, and our success at the Moon, 

and later, at Mars, will be grounded in our national goals and robust capabilities. The United States 

leads in space exploration now; however, as more countries and companies take aim at the Moon, 

America needs the earliest possible landing to maintain and build on that leadership, as well as to 

prepare for a historic first human mission to Mars. 

Landing astronauts on the Moon within four years will better focus this global initiative on the engineering, 

technology development, and process improvements necessary to safely and successfully carry out 

sustained human exploration of the Moon. It also paves the way for U.S. commercial companies and 

international partners to further contribute to the exploration and development of the Moon. 

We need several years in orbit and on the surface of the Moon to build operational confidence for conducting 

long-term work and supporting life away from Earth before we can embark on the first multi-year human 

mission to Mars. The sooner we get to the Moon, the sooner we get American astronauts to Mars.

We need to act fast to make this vision a reality, and a crewed lunar landing by 2024 is the key to a 

successful Moon to Mars exploration approach. Our next lunar landing paves the way for a new and 

sustainable lunar economy—one where U.S. companies and international partners will benefit from 

and build on what we learn. 
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Early Artemis Missions

With the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft nearing the end of 

testing and development, the agency has the foundation needed to send humans back to lunar orbit.

In preparation for the safest earliest possible lunar landing, NASA seeks to make full use of early 

Artemis missions through additional testing for Orion and the Human Landing System (HLS) when 

possible.

The Gateway is a critical component of the agency’s sustainable lunar operations. NASA will 

integrate the first two pieces on Earth, launching the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and 

the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) together in 2023 on a single rocket, followed by a 

commercial logistics supply launch.

In 2024, Orion will deliver its crew to lunar orbit. The commercially developed lander that will take 

the crew to the lunar surface will be capable of docking directly to Orion for crew transfer for early 

Artemis missions, but NASA is maintaining flexibility for optional docking to the Gateway. On the 

surface, the crew will wear the new exploration extravehicular mobility unit or xEMU spacesuit as 

they explore the surface for about a week before returning to Orion for the trip home to Earth.

Sustainable Artemis Missions

On later Artemis missions crew will arrive at the Gateway aboard Orion. On the Gateway, they 

will be able to conduct research and take trips down to the surface. NASA will work with Artemis 

providers to ensure spacecraft are built to international interoperability standards with as many 

reusable components as possible for long-term sustainability at the Moon. 

Long-standing International Space Station partners are eager to join NASA in lunar orbit. The 

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has committed to providing advanced robotics for the Gateway, and 

ESA (European Space Agency) plans to provide the International Habitat (IHab) and the ESPRIT 

module, which will deliver additional communications capabilities, a science airlock for deploying 

science payloads and CubeSats, and refueling of the Gateway. The Japan Aerospace Exploration 

Agency (JAXA) plans to contribute habitation components and logistics resupply. The Russian 

Space Agency (Roscosmos) has expressed interest in cooperation on Gateway as well. 

At the lunar South Pole, NASA and its partners will develop an Artemis Base Camp to support 

longer expeditions on the lunar surface. Planned Base Camp elements include a lunar terrain vehicle 

(LTV, or unpressurized rover), a habitable mobility platform (pressurized rover), a lunar foundation 

habitation module, power systems, ad in-situ resource utilization systems. 

This incremental build-up of capabilities on and around the Moon is essential to establishing longterm exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor and preparing for human exploration of Mars. 
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Chapter 1: Setting Humanity on a Sustainable Course 

to the Moon

The Artemis program builds on a half-century of experience and preparation to establish a robust 

human-robotic presence on and around the Moon. With clear direction from the White House, 

coordination among the reestablished National Space Council, strong bipartisan support in 

Congress, and robust participation from industry and international partnerships, Artemis is a 

globally unifying endeavor. 

America will lead the monumental shift that frees humanity from our innate bonds to Earth. This is 

the decade in which the Artemis Generation will teach us how to live on other worlds.

The Basis for a Lunar Architecture 

NASA was ready for Space Policy Directive-1, the call from the President to return to the Moon 

and get ready for Mars, and was already prepared to offer architectural and hardware solutions to 

leverage the core deep space transportation systems—the SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the 

supporting Exploration Ground Systems (EGS)—to return humans to the Moon for the first time in 

more than 50 years. 

Through partnerships with U.S. industry, NASA was already developing 21st century deep space 

habitation capabilities and investing in lunar lander technologies. Ongoing spacesuit upgrades 

have resulted in a lunar surface suit that affords more frequent spacewalks through improved 

safety features, custom fitting, simplified maintenance, and better communications. A cross-agency 
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architecture team also had been formulating plans for a Gateway orbiting the Moon. This plan 

garnered significant support from international partners and was reflected in the Global Exploration 

Roadmap as a collaborative effort that would “open the space frontier for human exploration of the 

Moon, Mars and asteroids as we expand human exploration and commerce into deep space.” 

In 2018, with support from the highest-level national decision makers, NASA proposed a plan to 

return humans to the lunar surface by 2028. This plan included the Gateway from which human 

landers could be deployed. There was strong international support for the orbiting lunar outpost, 

and International Space Station partners proposed additional capabilities they could contribute. 

The Gateway program advanced from formulation to program status in late 2018. 

NASA also established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services or 

CLPS initiative in 2018, encouraging the U.S. commercial space 

industry to introduce new lander technologies to deliver NASA 

and commercial payloads to the surface of the Moon. 

With 14 CLPS providers currently on contract and eligible to bid 

on payload deliveries to the Moon, NASA solicits bids from the 

companies as needed and awards surface task orders for lunar 

surface deliveries. The agency has already awarded multiple 

deliveries and assigned payloads to flights in 2021 as well as the 

first of two planned deliveries slated for 2022. A task order was 

awarded in June 2020 to Astrobotic of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 

to deliver NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover 

or VIPER in 2023. The agency plans to send science instruments 

and technology experiments to the surface at least twice per year 

on CLPS flights. 

NASA has already selected more than two dozen instruments 

to study the Moon and test new technologies for these early 

CLPS flights, including VIPER. The agency also has announced a new process to build an internal 

database of future lunar surface investigations. Through the Payloads and Research Investigations 

on the Surface of the Moon or PRISM, NASA is interested in investigations that maximize basic 

and applied science and technology demonstrations at different lunar locations, as well as 

individual investigation components that would be valuable at multiple locations. The agency will 

use the PRISM information to inform the manifests of future CLPS deliveries beginning in 2023. 

The agency will periodically open up PRISM requests for information to collect new ideas and 

investigations eligible for future CLPS flight opportunities. 

Meanwhile in 2018, NASA began the acquisition process for commercially provided Human 

Landing Systems (HLS) to meet the goal of sending humans back to the Moon. By harnessing new 

technologies and spurring competitive innovation, NASA will work with commercial partners to 

Initial investigations delivered 

by CLPS providers will 

study the lunar surface and 

resources at the lunar poles. 

NASA originally selected 

nine CLPS providers, but as 

the need to deliver heavier 

payloads became apparent, 

the agency later added five 

more companies. 

In May 2019, NASA awarded 

the first two task awards for 

12 instrument deliveries to 

Astrobotic (Pittsburgh, PA) and 

Intuitive Machines (Houston, 

TX). Those initial flights are 

launching in 2021, and NASA 

is planning for two deliveries 

per year thereafter. 

SCIENCE
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design and develop an HLS capable of accessing any part of the Moon and reusing sections of the 

system to increase affordability. 

The team issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) (NextSTEP Appendix E) to U.S. industry, 

seeking HLS studies, risk reduction, development, and demonstration. Proposals were due March 

25, 2019, one day before Vice President Pence issued a new challenge to NASA: land the first woman 

and next man on the Moon by 2024—four years earlier than originally planned. NASA moved 

quickly to respond to the Vice President’s challenge. 

By May 2019, NASA had selected 11 companies across eight states under NextSTEP Appendix E 

to conduct studies and produce system-level prototypes to reduce risk and advance human lander 

technologies. Appendix E immediately allowed NASA to engage with commercial industry on early 

designs and how to best set up a rapid development approach to meet the 2024 objectives. 

In response to the new, accelerated charge to the Moon, the agency issued a draft solicitation 

(NextSTEP Appendix H) in July 2019, this time seeking feedback on the development and 

demonstration of an integrated HLS to deliver humans to the lunar surface by 2024 and for the 

development and demonstration of a more sustainable HLS by 2026. Following a second draft 

in August and after addressing more than 1,150 comments, the final Appendix H solicitation was 

issued in October 2019. Awards were made to three companies in spring 2020. 

Program Status Assessment 

In January 2020, NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission 

Directorate (HEOMD) chartered a program status assessment (PSA) 

of activities planned to achieve a human landing on the Moon by 2024. 

The assessment comprised teams of NASA personnel and outside 

aerospace experts who examined the overall early Artemis architecture, 

including Orion, SLS, Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), Gateway, 

HLS, and system engineering and cross-program integration. Members 

of the PSA teams examined management and integration across 

programs, schedule risks, technical risks, technical systems engineering 

integration, and test program thoroughness. 

Following the six-week assessment, PSA findings indicated that the 

Artemis III approach that was baselined for the original 2028 landing 

timeline—and therefore the schedule to meet the goal of landing the 

first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024—was significantly 

dependent on new technology maturation. Based on the findings, 

NASA is conducting studies with the HLS vendors to investigate where 

high TRL systems may improve schedule for Artemis III. 
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Another change resulting from the PSA findings included launching the Gateway’s PPE and HALO 

together on a single rocket. Initially, NASA was planning separate launches in 2022 (PPE) and 2023 

(HALO) and subsequent autonomous rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit. Integrating PPE and 

HALO on the ground is a cost-effective approach to reducing technical risk and enhancing mission 

success by eliminating the need for two segments to dock in deep space. While in lunar orbit, this 

early Gateway will demonstrate its unique orbit and operate science payloads in deep space. 

A snapshot of “firsts” to be achieved through the Artemis program.
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Chapter 2: Landing Humans on the Moon in 2024

The foundation for our return to the Moon is NASA’s deep space transportation system: the Orion 

spacecraft, SLS rocket, the HLS, and the EGS facilities that include a modernized spaceport. The 

Orion spacecraft, powered by a service module provided by ESA (the European Space Agency), has 

been specifically designed for deep space human operations for up to four crew. The SLS rocket is 

the human rated heavy-lift rocket designed to launch Orion and send it on missions to the Moon. 

Next year, science and technology will lead our return to the Moon as we see the first payloads 

delivered to the lunar surface aboard CLPS provider landers and 13 CubeSats deployed from the 

SLS during Artemis I—five of which will return lunar data. Human exploration under the Artemis 

program will begin with the crewed flight test of SLS and Orion on Artemis II in 2023. In this same 

time frame, NASA and its commercial HLS partners also plan to conduct in-space flight testing of the 

lander system, including potential tests to the lunar surface. NASA’s goal is to conduct in-space testing 

of every possible hardware, software, and operational system required for Artemis III prior to the 

mission in 2024. 

Artemis I and Mission Readiness 

The Artemis I SLS rocket will launch an uncrewed Orion into Earth orbit, placing it on a path toward 

a lunar distant retrograde orbit, where it will travel 40,000 miles beyond the Moon, or a total of 

about 280,000 miles from Earth before returning home. This crucial flight test will demonstrate the 

performance of the SLS rocket on its maiden flight and gather engineering data throughout before 

Orion returns on a high-speed Earth reentry at Mach 32, or 24,500 miles per hour. The high speed 

lunar velocity reentry is the top mission priority and a necessary test of the heat shield’s performance 

as it enters Earth’s atmosphere, heating to nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit—about half as hot as the 

surface of the sun—before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean for retrieval and post-flight engineering 

assessment. 

For this uncrewed configuration, engineering equipment will fly 

in place of astronaut-essential elements. Instead of the cockpit 

displays and controls and life support systems that will fly on the 

first crewed flight, this first flight will carry the data-gathering tools 

needed to validate performance and compare predictive models with 

actual flight data. Over the course of the four-to-six-week mission, 

Orion will travel more than 1.4 million miles prior to returning 

to Earth, surpassing Apollo 13’s record for distance traveled from 

Earth in a spacecraft designed for humans. This mission will also 

deploy 13 CubeSats to conduct new scientific investigations and new 

technology demonstrations that will improve our knowledge of the 

deep space environment, while engaging a broader set of universities, 

international partners, and private companies in lunar exploration than 

ever before on a single mission. 

Artemis I will leverage excess 

volume on the massive SLS 

rocket to carry 13 CubeSats 

to deep space and deploy 

them to conduct science and 

technology research. 

These “hitchhiker” payloads 

are provided by NASA, 

U.S. companies, academic 

institutions and international 

partners. Five of them will 

return important data about 

the lunar environment 

to inform future Artemis 

missions. 

SCIENCE
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Preparations for Artemis I are well underway. Production is complete for the SLS engines—comprising 

four RS-25 liquid rocket engines, two solid rocket boosters, the massive core stage, and the interim 

cryogenic propulsion stage that provides Orion’s final push toward the Moon—and all are completing 

preflight tests. Beyond significant ground tests when NASA has fired elements of the rocket from test 

stands in Mississippi, Utah, and Alabama, a fully integrated series of ground tests will take place at 

Kennedy Space Center before a final Flight Readiness Review prior to the Artemis I launch.

Orion’s maiden flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1, flew on December 5, 2014. The 4.5-hour mission 

demonstrated Orion’s space-worthiness in a high-Earth orbit, tested the spacecraft’s heat shield to the 

extent possible during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, and proved the capsule’s recovery systems. 

Although EFT-1 didn’t include a crew, the Orion capsule flew higher and faster than any spacecraft 

meant to carry humans in more than 40 years.

NASA completed the final series of Orion parachute tests in September 2018. The system includes 11 

parachutes that begin deploying at almost five miles in altitude. Over the course of eight qualification 

tests at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, engineers have evaluated the performance 

of Orion’s parachute system during normal landing sequences as well as numerous failure scenarios 

and a variety of potential aerodynamic conditions to ensure astronauts can return safely from deep 

space missions. 

Space Launch System Mock Up arrives at Kennedy for Testing. NASA’s Pegasus Barge arrived at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf at Kennedy Space 

Center in Florida to make its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency’s Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived September 27, 

2019, ferrying the 212-foot-long Space Launch System rocket core stage pathfinder. Weighing in at 228,000 pounds, the Pathfinder is a full-scale mock-up of 

the rocket’s core stage and will be used to validate ground support equipment and demonstrate it can be integrated with Kennedy facilities.
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In 2019, NASA conducted a successful test known as Ascent Abort-2, which tested the Orion launch 

abort system that sits atop Orion at launch and during ascent. If an emergency occurs during launch, 

the launch abort system pulls Orion and its crew away from the rocket to land in the Atlantic Ocean. The 

three-minute test proved that Orion’s launch abort system can outrun a speeding rocket during highstress aerodynamic conditions and pull astronauts to safety if an emergency occurs during launch. 

Additional pre-flight testing details are documented in Appendix 4, Artemis Flight Readiness. 

The Orion crew module for the Artemis I mission has been fully assembled, tested, and integrated 

with the European service module. The service module, built by ESA, provides most of the propulsion, 

power, and cooling systems for the crew module where astronauts will live and work during Artemis 

missions. The integrated spacecraft successfully completed simulated in-space environments testing, 

verifying that Orion’s systems will perform as expected during Artemis missions. Inside the world’s 

largest vacuum chamber, the spacecraft was subjected to the extreme electromagnetic conditions 

and temperatures (-250 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit) of space. The campaign was completed ahead 

of schedule, and the spacecraft has since returned to the space coast for final preparations ahead of 

integration with the SLS rocket.

A launch abort system with a test version of Orion attached soars upward on NASA’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test atop a Northrop Grumman provided booster 

on July 2, 2019. 
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NASA’s ground systems team has modified the infrastructure and ground support equipment 

necessary to launch Artemis missions and recover Orion. The mobile launcher has undergone 

integrated testing inside the Vehicle Assembly Building and at the newly renovated Launch Pad 39B, 

validating it can communicate effectively with the facility systems and ground systems to perform 

appropriately during launch. 

The EGS team responsible for carrying out launch operations has performed training simulations 

inside firing room 1 to certify the team is ready for launch and can work through any type of issue in 

real time. Teams have also practiced offloading, maneuvering, and stacking the 212-foot-long SLS core 

stage using a full-scale mock-up called a pathfinder. 

Artemis II 

With Artemis II, the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion will send four astronauts to the lunar 

environment for the first time in more than 50 years. This will be the Artemis Generation’s “Apollo 

8 moment,” when the astronauts aboard Orion will capture the full globe of the Earth from afar, as a 

backdrop to the Moon.

With confidence based on the Artemis I mission and the thousands of hours put into prior flight and 

ground testing, the Artemis II crew will board Orion atop the SLS for an approximate 10-day mission 

where they will set a record for the farthest human travel beyond the far side of the Moon in a hybrid 

free return trajectory.

The SLS rocket will launch the crew aboard Orion, and the spacecraft will make two orbits around Earth 

before committing to the trip to the Moon. Orion will first reach an initial insertion orbit at an altitude of 

115 by 1,800 miles and the elliptical orbit will last approximately 90 minutes with the perigee adjusted 

via the rocket’s first firing of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). After the first orbit, the 

rocket’s ICPS will again provide the thrust to raise Orion into a 

high-Earth orbit (HEO), flying in an ellipse for approximately 42 

hours between 200 and 59,000 miles above Earth.

After reaching HEO, Orion will separate from the ICPS, and 

the expended stage will have one final use before it is disposed 

through Earth’s atmosphere—the crew will use it as a target for 

a proximity operations demonstration. In this demonstration, 

the astronauts will pilot Orion’s flight path and orientation in 

manual mode. The crew will use onboard cameras and the view 

from the spacecraft’s windows to line up with the ICPS as they 

approach and back away from the stage to assess Orion’s handling 

characteristics. The demonstration will provide performance 

data and operational experience that cannot be readily gained 

on the ground in preparation for critical rendezvous, proximity 

operations, docking, as well as undocking operations on 

beginning on Artemis III.

Thanks to nearly 20 years of 

continuous human habitation 

on the ISS, future Marsclass life support systems 

can be designed with a 36% 

reduction in mass. 

Mars systems will require 

less maintenance and fewer 

spares, making them much 

safer than current operational 

systems. These improved life 

support and environmental 

control technologies 

demonstrated on ISS have 

already been incorporated in 

Orion and will be put to the 

test on Artemis II. 

MARS
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Following the proximity operations demonstration, the crew will turn control back to mission 

controllers and spend the remainder of the day-long orbit verifying system performance in the space 

environment. In HEO, the crew will assess the performance of the life support systems necessary to 

generate breathable air and remove metabolically produced water vapor and carbon dioxide. They 

will remove the Orion Crew Survival System suit they wear for launch and spend the remainder of 

the in-space mission in plain clothes until they don their suits again to prepare for entry into Earth’s 

atmosphere and recovery from the ocean. A change between the suit mode and cabin mode in the 

life support system as well as performance of the system during exercise periods where the crew’s 

metabolic rate is the highest and sleep period where the crew’s metabolic rate is the lowest, will 

confirm the life support system’s readiness for the lunar flyby portion of the mission.

While still in HEO, Orion will fly beyond the Global Positioning 

System (GPS) navigation system satellites and the Tracking Data 

Relay Satellite System (TDRS) communication satellites of NASA’s 

Space Network and allow an early checkout of Deep Space Network 

(DSN) communication and navigation capabilities. Once Orion 

travels out to and around the Moon, it will need the Deep Space 

Network to enable mission control to maintain communication with 

the astronauts and command the spacecraft, as well as update the 

navigation system, so this early checkout will confirm readiness to 

perform the lunar flyby. Once back in range of GPS and TDRS on the 

return back towards Earth in HEO, Orion will switch back to GPS 

navigation and TDRS communication just as it will on landing day. 

After completing checkout procedures in HEO, Orion will perform 

the translunar injection maneuver, or TLI. With the ICPS having 

done most of the work to put Orion into HEO, Orion’s service 

module now provides the last push needed to put the spacecraft 

on a path toward the Moon with a lunar free-return trajectory. The TLI will send the crew on an 

outbound trip of about four days and around the far side of the moon where they will ultimately create 

a figure eight extending more than 230,000 miles from Earth as Orion returns on another four day 

journey back home. This fuel-efficient trajectory harnesses the relationship of the Earth-Moon gravity 

field, ensuring that—after its trip around the far side of the Moon—Orion will be pulled back naturally 

by Earth’s gravity, with no propulsive moves required. 

The Artemis II crew will travel 4,600 miles (7,400 km) beyond the far side of the Moon. From this 

vantage point, they will be able to see the Earth and the Moon from Orion’s windows, with the Moon 

close in the foreground and the Earth about a quarter-million miles in the background. 

The only sunsets they will see during this mission will be in their first lap around Earth on their first 

day and a brief eclipse of the Sun as the Moon passes between them. The persistent sunlight will 

provide power production for Orion’s solar arrays, but the crew will have to dim lights and shade the 

windows inside the capsule to simulate nighttime to achieve proper circadian rhythm. To demonstrate 

NASA is developing 

and implementing key 

communication and 

navigation technologies to 

support robust exploration 

at and near the Moon. These 

technologies include the use 

of GPS signals by spacecraft 

and lunar surface systems 

for navigation, optical 

communications technology 

to allow multi-gigabit data 

connections back to the Earth, 

and expanding the Internet 

architecture into space 

through Disruption Tolerant 

Networking (DTN) standards 

and software.

TECHNOLOGY
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capabilities for maintaining physical condition while flying, the astronauts will have an exercise 

regimen of aerobic and strength training. These workout plans will leverage decades of human 

spaceflight experience obtained in low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station, and will 

produce the highest levels of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the cabin, demanding the life support 

system to maintain proper cabin atmospheric conditions that will further verify the spacecraft’s life 

support system performance. 

Throughout the mission, crew will have limited down-time to contact their families, but they will have 

one off-duty day to mentally prepare themselves for the return home and talk with their families and 

friends back on Earth via video chat while viewing the solar system out of Orion’s windows. 

The day before the crew returns home, they will prepare for Earth entry, descent and landing by 

pressurizing and testing the crew module propulsion systems and storing loose equipment before 

descent through Earth’s atmosphere. On entry day, they will put on their pressurized spacesuits and 

strap into their seats before the crew module separates from the European service module. 

During reentry, the Orion spacecraft will be traveling at nearly 25,000 mph as it reenters the Earth’s 

atmosphere, which will slow it down to 325 mph. Parachutes will then slow it further to about 20 mph 

for splashdown, ending a mission that will exceed 620,000 miles (over 1,000,000 km). Recovery forces, 

already positioned at the target landing zone, will be ready to recover the crew from the Pacific Ocean. 

Artemis III 

Artemis III will be the culmination of the rigorous testing and more 

than two million miles accumulated in space on NASA’s deep space 

transportation systems during Artemis I and II. 

Orion and its crew of four will once again travel to the Moon—this 

time to make history with the first woman and next man to walk 

on its surface. A rapid return to the Moon requires the agency to 

minimize the number of systems involved with landing humans 

on the surface by 2024, so while future lunar landings will use 

the Gateway as a staging point in lunar orbit for missions to the 

surface, the agency’s procurement for a commercially provided 

HLS left the door open for proposals that didn’t use Gateway on 

early Artemis missions. 

For long-term operations, the Gateway provides a staging point 

for human and robotic lunar missions. The orbiting outpost will 

support longer expeditions on the Moon, and potentially multiple 

trips to the surface during a single Artemis mission. The Gateway-to-surface operational system is also 

analogous to how a human Mars mission may work—with the ability for crew to remain in orbit and 

deploy to the surface. It is important to gain operational confidence in this system at the Moon before 

the first human missions to Mars. 

In early 2021, NASA 

will launch the Cislunar 

Autonomous Positioning 

System Technology Operations 

and Navigation Experiment 

(CAPSTONE) CubeSat to 

conduct early verification 

of the lunar near-rectilinear 

halo orbit (NRHO). CAPSTONE 

will enter the orbit, rotating 

together with the Moon as it 

orbits Earth. The CubeSat will 

demonstrate how to enter 

into and operate in NRHO as 

well as test a new navigation 

capability. This information 

will help validate Gateway 

operational models. 

TECHNOLOGY
21

The Human Landing System 

NASA has selected Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, Dynetics 

(a Leidos company) of Huntsville, Alabama, and SpaceX of 

Hawthorne, California to begin development work for the HLS that 

will land astronauts on the Moon and then safely return them to 

lunar orbit before their trip back to Earth during Artemis missions. 

The early development activities, which NASA anticipates will 

last approximately 10 months, will culminate in early 2021 with 

a preliminary design-level review in which NASA will determine 

which designs are the most mature to achieve the first human return 

to the Moon on Artemis III. 

These companies offered three distinct lander and mission 

designs, offering dissimilar redundancy, driving a broad range 

of technology development and, ultimately, more sustainability 

for lunar surface access. All three can dock with Orion or the Gateway to receive crew in lunar orbit, 

providing NASA with flexibility in mission planning. 

The Blue Origin-led Human Landing System team includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, 

and Draper. Their Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV) is a three-stage lander with Blue Origin building 

the descent element, Lockheed Martin building the ascent element that includes the crew cabin, and 

Northrop Grumman building the transfer element. Draper will provide the guidance, navigation and 

control, avionics, and software systems. The ILV will launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket and 

United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan heavy-lift rocket

The Dynetics Human Landing System concept includes a single element providing the ascent and 

descent capabilities, with multiple modular propellant vehicles (MPVs) prepositioned to fuel the 

engines at different points in the mission. Dynetics plans to launch its lander and MPVs on ULA 

Vulcan heavy-lift rockets. 

The SpaceX Starship is a fully reusable launch and landing system designed for travel to the Moon, 

Mars, and other destinations. It launches aboard a SpaceX Super Heavy rocket and is fueled in lowEarth orbit before embarking to lunar orbit. 

Although the landers will be developed by the commercial companies, NASA teams will be embedded 

with each company to provide insight and expertise. For the remainder of 2020, NASA will work with 

the contractors in a “base period” to streamline development of their respective systems to achieve 

the highest likelihood of getting to the Moon in 2024. The blended government-contractor teams 

will couple the speed and innovation of the private sector with government experience and expertise 

to collaborate on products and design approaches to streamline contract deliverables. In early 2021, 

NASA expects to determine which commercial concepts are the most mature to land astronauts on the 

Moon for the early Artemis surface expeditions. 

In addition to NASA’s 

experience in the Apollo 

program, the agency has 

developed and terrestrially 

flown two lander prototypes in 

the last decade—Mighty Eagle 

and Morpheus. Work continues 

on technology development in 

the areas of precision landing, 

cryogenic fluid management & 

propulsion, intelligent/resilient 

systems and advanced 

robotics. 

TECHNOLOGY
22

The first crew landings will be considered demonstrations of the contractor HLS systems. Similar 

to the precursor demonstrations for commercial cargo and commercial crew delivery services to the 

International Space Station, NASA believes that successful demonstrations are an effective approach 

to validating commercial space transportation capabilities before entering into services contracts. 

The agency is planning crewed exploration missions to the lunar surface beginning in 2024 that 

will include demonstrations of the new HLS systems. The initial missions represent a human return 

to the Moon for the first time since 1972, but with several key differences, including the use of 21st 

century technologies and access to more parts of the Moon. Later sustainable surface exploration 

demonstration missions will make full use of the Gateway-enabled capabilities, including refueling 

and reuse of all or parts of the lander and conducting critical Mars mission simulations. This 

approach allows NASA and industry to combine their respective expertise and capabilities into 

tightly collaborative partnerships needed to meet this challenge before achieving a regular cadence of 

landings using commercial services contracts later in the decade.

The HLS Program office will oversee all HLS verification, validation and certification to ensure 

requirements for flight readiness to meet NASA’s expectations for crew safety and human rating 

standards. NASA also will work closely with all HLS contractors to ensure that flight tests are 

conducted in a relevant environment to reduce as many risks as possible before crewed missions. The 

HLS Program office will use the best of NASA to ensure the agency’s objectives are safely met. 

Artemis III Surface Operations 

The exact landing site for Artemis III astronauts depends on several factors, including the 

specific science objectives and the launch date. High-resolution data received from NASA’s Lunar 

Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has provided incredible views and detailed mapping of the lunar 

Artist’s rendering of astronauts conducting science and exploration activities on the lunar surface. 
23

surface, including changes in lighting throughout the year. The agency is working with the global 

science community to study different regions that provide key desired traits: access to significant 

sunlight, which provides minimal temperature variations and potentially the only power source; 

continuous line-of-sight to Earth for mission support communications; mild grading and surface 

debris for safe landing and walking or roving mobility; and close proximity to permanently shadowed 

regions, some of which are believed to contain resources such as water ice. 

Through the CLPS initiative, NASA will gain even more surface data through science investigations 

that will help identify additional areas of interest for human exploration. For instance, investigation 

results from VIPER, the robotic scout, may also offer valuable information for landing site decisions. 

In addition to two crew, the HLS will carry up to 220 lbs (100 kg) of science tools and equipment to 

the surface, with the goal of returning up to 87.5 lbs (35 kg) of samples. Pending an earlier test of the 

lander’s descent stage, more supplies may be placed on the surface prior to crew arrival. In addition, 

our CLPS providers may be used to deliver pre-emplaced science instruments and equipment for use 

by our first human return crew while exploring on the lunar surface. 

On this intrepid first week-long expedition, the crew will characterize and document the regional 

geology, including small permanently shadowed regions, if 

available. They will collect a variety of samples to return to Earth 

for later research: rock samples to help date the sequence of impact 

events on the Moon; core tube samples to capture ancient solar 

wind trapped in regolith layers; and paired samples of material 

within and outside a permanently shadowed region to characterize 

the presence of volatiles and assess geotechnical differences 

between materials inside and outside of permanent shadows. 

While on the surface, crew will live in the cabin of the ascent 

vehicle—the upper part of the landing system that they will use 

to get back to lunar orbit when the surface expedition concludes. 

NASA requires a minimum of two moonwalks during the Artemis 

III surface expedition, and is currently working to drive down 

HLS vehicle mass to allocate more resources to spacesuit life 

support systems. The goal, if mass allows, is for the crew to conduct 

four planned EVAs, and reserve additional consumables for one 

unplanned contingency EVA. In this scenario, days 1, 2, 4, and 5 

will be primarily focused on moonwalks to conduct science and 

technology demonstrations, with the latter part of day 5 dedicated 

to site cleanup. The cleanup may involve securing tools or other 

moonwalk instruments for use on future expeditions, and will 

require placement far enough from the lander that they don’t cause 

a hazard during liftoff. Day 3 will be for crew rest, conducting 

science inside the ascent vehicle, and public engagement activities.

Artemis science goals 

will be driven by U.S. 

and international science 

community priorities. Broad 

lunar-based science themes 

that can be addressed with 

human-robotic investigations 

on the Moon include: 

• The study of planetary 

processes

• The study of lunar volatile 

cycles and the in-situ 

resource utilization (ISRU) 

potential of resources 

for lunar exploration and 

beyond 

• The impact history of the 

Earth-Moon system

• A platform to study the 

universe and geospace, 

including Earth

• Record of the ancient Sun

• A platform for experimental 

science in the lunar 

environment

See Appendix 1 for more on 

the Artemis Science Strategy. 

SCIENCE
24

Moonwalks will begin with cabin and suit hardware preparation once the crew has depressurized 

the lander. Outside on the Moon, the two crew members will spend about 1.5 hours on set-up tasks 

including configuring the lander for contingency return, and unpacking tools and equipment for the 

objectives of the day. They also will pre-position dust cleaning equipment to minimize the amount of 

lunar soil that gets tracked back into the cabin. The crew will spend approximately four hours outside, 

conducting dedicated science and technology demonstration activities. The scope of exploration will be 

constrained by the ability to return to the lander should a failure occur. If the LTV can be delivered to the 

landing site region before the crew arrives, the distance they cover on each moonwalk will greatly expand. 

After completing this historic expedition on the lunar surface, the crew will launch from the surface 

to rendezvous with Orion and their crewmates in lunar orbit. With their pristinely preserved samples 

from the Moon, the crew will prepare for the three-day trip back to Earth. 

When Artemis III lands the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024, America will 

demonstrate a new level of global space leadership. With lunar exploration capability re-established, 

NASA and the world will be ready to build a sustained presence on the lunar surface in preparation for 

human exploration of Mars. 

The Gateway 

The first two Gateway modules, the PPE and the HALO, will be integrated on the ground and launched 

together on a single rocket in 2023. 

Maxar Technologies of Westminster, Colorado, is developing the PPE, leveraging heritage systems 

from the company’s geostationary orbit satellites. The spacecraft’s solar electric propulsion system is 

Artist’s rendering of the Power and Propulsion Element and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) in lunar orbit. 
25

three times more powerful than current systems, and provides Gateway with electrical power, control, 

thrust, and communication capabilities. The PPE also provides accommodations for science and 

technology demonstration payloads.

Northrop Grumman of Falls Church, Virginia, is developing the HALO, which will be the initial crew 

cabin for astronauts visiting the Gateway. Its primary purpose is to provide basic life support needs for 

the visiting astronauts after they arrive in the Orion and prepare for their trip to the lunar surface. It 

will provide command, control, and data handling capabilities; energy storage and power distribution; 

thermal control; communications and tracking capabilities; as well as environmental control and life 

support systems to augment the Orion spacecraft and support crew members. It also will have several 

docking ports for visiting vehicles and future modules, as well as space for science and stowage. 

Cargo deliveries, initially provided by SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, will service the Gateway with 

pressurized and unpressurized cargo, including food and water for crew, science instruments, and 

supplies for the Gateway and lunar surface expeditions. 

Once in lunar orbit, the Gateway will enter a period of scientific operations. Designed to operate 

autonomously and with internationally agreed-upon interoperability standards, it will provide a 

unique platform to conduct science investigations in deep space and outside the protection of the 

Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts. The international science community has identified heliophysics, 

radiation, and space weather as high-priority investigations to fly on the Gateway. The first two 

payloads are a radiation instrument package provided by ESA and a space weather instrument suite 

provided by NASA. 

ESA’s radiation investigation, the European Radiation Sensors Array (ERSA) will help provide an 

understanding of how to keep astronauts safe by monitoring the radiation exposure in Gateway’s 

unique orbit. The NASA space weather instrument suite, Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation 

Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES), will monitor solar particles and solar wind. These early 

instruments will improve our deep space environmental forecasting capabilities to better protect our 

human deep space explorers and human health and performance investigations building off of our 

decades-long research in low-Earth orbit. The data gathered by these payloads, coupled with Gateway 

operational experience, will be leveraged to enable sustainable lunar operations and successfully 

complete the first crewed mission to Mars. 
26

Chapter 3: Extending Lunar Missions and Preparing for Mars

After Artemis III, NASA and its partners will embark on missions on and around the Moon that also 

will help prepare us for the types of mission durations and operations that we will experience on 

human missions to Mars. In this drive toward a more robust human lunar enterprise, NASA, U.S. 

industry, and our global partners will establish the infrastructure, systems, and robotic missions 

that can enable a sustained lunar surface presence. To do this, we will expand the Gateway’s 

capabilities, gain high confidence in commercial lunar landers departing from the Gateway, and 

establish the Artemis Base Camp at the South Pole of the Moon. 

With the core Artemis elements in operation—SLS, Orion, HLS, the Gateway, and potentially 

the LTV—NASA is engaging international and commercial partners to pursue additional surface 

capabilities. With this approach, NASA will leverage years of investment in the systems needed to 

return to the Moon, while fostering new partnerships and spurring new capabilities to ensure that 

humanity’s return to the Moon is sustainable and extensible to the first human mission to Mars. One 

such example is an extensible and scalable lunar communications and navigation architecture, known 

as LunaNet.

With a LunaNet architecture in place, robotic landers, rovers, and astronauts on the Moon will have 

network access similar to networks on Earth. Rovers analyzing samples can send their data to relays 

orbiting the Moon, which can then transmit that data back to Earth. Astronauts on the lunar surface 

will be able to receive real-time alerts generated from space weather instruments of incoming solar 

flares, giving them ample time to seek cover. Each communications link will be a connection to the 

larger network, allowing data transfers between any assets on the network. LunaNet will also support 

positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services and allow for more precise surface operations and 

science than ever before.

This flexible solution to enable exploration and science activities can be provided by a combination of 

NASA, commercial partners, international partners, and others. This flexibility will be critical as NASA 

moves forward with its plans for both lunar and solar system exploration, allowing LunaNet to grow in 

a manner analogous to the development of the internet on Earth.

Numerous potential international partners have expressed their interest in lunar surface operations. 

International partners could provide key contributions such as rovers, surface habitats, and ISRUrelated equipment. Moreover, activities conducted on the surface of the Moon and in cislunar space 

generally represent an excellent opportunity for NASA to expand its global partnerships, with a 

focus on new, emerging space agencies. 
27

On the Surface: Artemis Base Camp 

Artemis Base Camp will be our first foothold on the lunar frontier. The three proposed primary 

mission elements of Artemis Base Camp are the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (unpressurized rover) to 

transport suited astronauts around the site; the habitable mobility platform (pressurized rover) that 

can enable long-duration trips away from Artemis Base Camp; and the foundation surface habitat 

that will accommodate four crew on the lunar surface and anchoring Artemis Base Camp and the U.S. 

presence at the South Pole. Together—along with supporting infrastructure such as communications, 

power, radiation shielding, and waste disposal and storage planning—these elements comprise a 

sustained capability on the Moon that can be revisited and built upon over the coming decades while 

also testing systems that will be required for human missions farther into the solar system. 

The additional infrastructure at the base camp will support one- to two-month expeditions on the 

surface to learn more about the Moon and the universe at large, and to develop new technologies that 

will advance our national industries while developing new resources that will help grow a new lunar 

economy. The Artemis Base Camp will demonstrate America’s continued leadership in space and 

prepare us to undertake humanity’s first mission to Mars. 

Mobility is vital to the long-term exploration and development of the Moon. In addition to its size, 

the Moon’s geography is complex and its resources dispersed. Evaluating potential sites for Artemis 

Base Camp, such as near Shackleton Crater, reflects the immense scale of the lunar geography. Robust 

mobility systems will be needed to explore and develop the Moon and to explore Mars. The habitable 

Artist’s concept of the Artemis Base Camp.
28

mobility platform is a particularly 

important mission element as the first 

mission to Mars will use a similar type of 

spacecraft. 

See Appendix 6: NASA’s Plan for 

Sustained Lunar Exploration 

Development for more on the Artemis 

Base Camp and other elements of 

sustainable lunar exploration. 

Lunar Resources

As our sustained presence grows at 

the Moon, opportunities to harvest 

lunar resources could lead to safer, 

more efficient operations with less dependence on supplies delivered from Earth. NASA has 

several current ISRU investments through partnerships with industry and academia. Prospecting, 

extraction and mining initiatives are advancing our capabilities to find and harness resources 

from the lunar regolith. Chemical and thermal process developments may provide options to 

break down naturally occurring minerals and compounds found on the Moon and convert them 

to human consumables or even propellant. Other potential longer-term applications could lead to 

extraterrestrial metal processing and construction of habitats 

or other lunar surface structures using resources found on the 

Moon. Many of these technologies could be demonstrated and 

advanced on the Moon for future use at Mars. And while the Moon 

has no atmosphere, we know that the Mars atmosphere is rich in 

carbon dioxide, so NASA is also investing in initiatives to focus 

on atmospheric extraction and conversion of CO2 to other useful 

elements or compounds. 

In April 2020, the White House issued an Executive Order, 

“Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of 

Space Resources,” addressing U.S. policy regarding the recovery 

and use of resources from the Moon and other celestial bodies. 

This Executive Order directs the Secretary of State to lead a 

U.S. Government effort to develop joint statements, bilateral 

agreements, and multilateral instruments with like-minded 

foreign states to enable safe and sustainable operations for 

the commercial recovery and use of space resources. NASA is 

supporting State Department efforts to advance the Executive 

Order by conducting a trailblazing purchase of an extraterrestrial 

resource. Specifically, NASA plans to purchase from one or more 

Astronauts at Artemis Base 

Camp will test a wide set 

of new technologies in six 

priority areas encompassed 

by NASA’s Lunar Surface 

Innovation Initiative. 

For example, advancing ISRU 

technologies could lead to 

future production of fuel, 

water, and/or oxygen from 

local materials, decreasing 

supply needs from Earth. 

Advanced solar and 

fission power systems and 

autonomous manufacturing 

technologies could also be 

demonstrated at the Artemis 

Base Camp for long-duration 

operations on the Moon and 

Mars. 

See Appendix 2 for more on 

the Artemis Lunar Surface 

Technology Strategy. 

TECHNOLOGY

This image of Shackleton Crater on the lunar South Pole was captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Laid on top is the 64-mile long Washington, D.C. Capital Beltway for scale. 
29

providers a sample of an extracted lunar resource for a nominal 

dollar value. The sample will be delivered in place on the lunar 

surface for retrieval by NASA at a later date. This process 

will establish a critical precedent that lunar resources can be 

extracted and purchased from the private sector in compliance 

with Article II and other provisions of the Outer Space Treaty.

In Orbit: The Gateway

The Gateway will forge U.S. leadership and establish a presence 

in the region between the Moon and Earth with our international 

partners. The orbiting outpost also will offer a unique platform 

from which to conduct science investigations, with the potential 

to navigate to different orbits around the Moon. 

While the Gateway is a much smaller and more focused platform than the International Space 

Station, NASA is taking the lessons learned from that experience to implement a lunar architecture 

in which multiple providers (of crew systems, propulsion, logistics, science platforms, technology 

demonstrators, etc.) can provide complementary capabilities that increase the overall success 

and resiliency of the lunar architecture. Early work to define a series of International Deep Space 

Interoperability Standards has formed the basis through which industry and international partners 

can “plug and play” into the deep space exploration architecture. NASA and the international 

community collaborated to define the standards with the goal of defining interfaces and 

environments to facilitate cooperative deep space exploration endeavors. These standards focus on 

The Gateway’s capabilities 

could help NASA and its 

partners prepare for human 

missions to Mars by enabling 

Mars mission simulations (or 

analogs) while the crew is still 

relatively close to home. 

While the Mars architecture is 

not finalized, the Gateway is 

our technical and operational 

proving ground for that type of 

Mars mission.

MARS

Artist’s concept of the Gateway including international contributions, with Orion approaching. 
30

topics prioritized in this early phase of exploration planning and are not intended to dictate design 

features beyond the interfaces. The standards include: avionics, communication, environmental 

control and life support systems, power, rendezvous, robotics, thermal control, and software. 

Our current space station partners will provide important contributions to Gateway, comprising 

advanced external robotics, additional habitation, and possibly other enhancements. Canada 

announced in February 2019 that it intends to participate in the Gateway and contribute advanced 

external robotics. In October 2019, Japan announced plans to join the United States on the Gateway 

with contributions of habitation components and logistics resupply. In November 2019, ESA 

received authorization and funding to support its planned contributions to the Gateway including 

habitation and refueling. Russia has also expressed interest in cooperating on the Gateway. 

The Gateway also will play a pivotal role in Mars mission simulations at the Moon. For these 

simulations, we currently envision a four-person crew traveling to the Gateway and living aboard the 

outpost for a multi-month stay to simulate the outbound trip to Mars, followed by two crew traveling 

down to Artemis Base Camp and exploring the lunar surface with the habitable mobility platform, 

while the two remaining crewmembers stay aboard the Gateway. The four crew are then reunited at the 

Gateway for another multi-month stay, simulating the return trip to Earth, before landing back home. 

These missions will be by far the longest human deep space missions in history. They will be the 

operational tests of our technical and operational readiness for the first human Mars mission. 

Summary

All major components required to lead a robust human return to the Moon are underway, with U.S. 

commercial lunar robotic deliveries leading the way in 2021. NASA’s deep space transportation 

systems are in the final stages of testing before integration. The Artemis I and Artemis II flight 

tests will validate rocket and spacecraft performance and set America on a course to once again 

return astronauts to the Moon. NASA will also work with commercial partners to build landers and 

conduct risk-reducing tests in the lead-up to the landings on the Artemis III mission and beyond.

Our charge is bold and to meet it, we must employ innovative development approaches. At every 

milestone we will learn and improve our technical methods. Our top priority is the safety of our 

people—not just the astronauts who we send on these missions, but also the thousands of workers 

on the ground who make it all possible. 

With the approach laid out in this document, NASA will leverage years of hard work and national 

investment in the systems needed to return to the Moon, while enabling current and new partners 

and capabilities to achieve sustainability—all of which will lead to the first human mission to Mars.

This vision, coupled with support from key stakeholders and one of the strongest budgets in NASA’s 

history, is the way forward to the Moon. With modern deep space systems in development, a 

growing corps of astronauts, and new science investigations and technologies planned to study the 
31

Moon ahead of a human return, we are closer to landing crew on the Moon again than at any other 

time in our history since the Apollo program. The sooner we go to the Moon, the sooner we send 

astronauts to Mars.
32

APPENDIX 1: 

Artemis Science Strategy 
33

Priorities & Principles

• Achieve the decadal survey objectives across the disciplines that can be addressed at the Moon or near the Moon

• Perform all research to the standards of NASA Science, including competitive selections, open data policies, etc.

• Enable competitive research through Mission of Opportunities or otherwise on or around the Moon

Science Goals

The Moon is a cornerstone for Solar System science. The Artemis science goals will be driven by the U.S. and international science 

communities’ priorities. The scientific opportunities represented by the Moon, as a research platform or focus, have been captured 

in a multitude of community input documents. It is important to stress that Artemis enables science in a plethora of disciplines not 

just lunar and planetary science. Broad lunar-based science themes that can be addressed include:

• Understanding planetary processes

• Understanding volatile cycles

• Interpreting the impact history of the Earth-Moon system

• Revealing the record of the ancient sun

• Observing the universe from a unique location

• Conducting experimental science in the lunar environment

• Investigating and mitigating exploration risks to humans

Implementation Strategy

A coordinated effort among NASA’s mission directorates is underway to ensure that these scientific priorities are met. This 

implementation strategy includes:

• Develop a pipeline of science and technology payloads to be delivered to the lunar surface by commercial companies

• Develop mobility systems to expand and enhance science investigations on the lunar surface

• Leverage International Partnerships for additional opportunities (e.g., instruments, rovers)

• Obtain new scientific data from lunar orbit pertinent to planetary, solar system, and cosmological observations using SmallSats

• Use of new human exploration systems, such as Gateway and the Human Landing System, to enable science 

• Lead the science mission planning for Artemis crews on the lunar surface including developing the capabilities they will need to 

conduct effective scientific exploration. These capabilities relate to

• Field geology

• Sample collection and return

• Instrumentation for surface and near-surface environment characterization (e.g. electromagnetic interference, 

charged particle, neutral particulates)

• Access to cold regions

• Access to lunar far side

• Create a pathway for component/sensor/technology development that enables science (e.g., TRL enhancement)
34

APPENDIX 2: 

Artemis Lunar Surface 

Technology Strategy 

Image credit: Ball Aerospace
35

Establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon allows 

NASA to develop and test new approaches, technologies, and 

systems that will enable us to function in other, more challenging 

environments. Technology investments for Artemis are being 

targeted at technologies that would vastly reduce the cost of deep 

space exploration, making possible even more ambitious missions 

to Mars. By working side by side with commercial enterprises 

and international partners, combining knowledge and expertise 

to fully explore the lunar surface, many technical advances and 

breakthroughs will be made that will feed technological and 

economic growth on Earth.

Technology Goals

The Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII) activities are 

implemented through a combination of in-house activities, competitive programs, and public-private partnerships aimed to spur the 

creation of novel technologies needed for lunar surface exploration and accelerate the technology readiness of crucial systems and 

components. 

Priorities

Through LSII, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is developing and demonstrating capabilities to retire 

technology hurdles in the following areas:

• In-situ resource utilization technologies for collecting, processing, storing, and using material found or manufactured on the 

Moon or other planetary bodies.

• Surface power technologies that provide the capability for sustainable, continuous power throughout the lunar day and night.

• Dust mitigation technologies that diminish dust hazards on lunar surface systems such as cameras, solar panels, spacesuits, 

and instrumentation.

• Extreme environment technologies that enable systems to operate throughout the range of lunar surface temperatures.

• Extreme access technologies that enable humans or robots to efficiently access, navigate, and explore previously inaccessible 

lunar surface or subsurface areas.

• Excavation and construction technologies that enable affordable, autonomous manufacturing or construction.

Implementation Strategy

• Ensure that there is an ambitious, cohesive, executable agency strategy for developing and deploying the technologies required 

for successful lunar surface exploration. 

• Integrate a broad spectrum of stakeholders to develop an acquisition strategy that efficiently facilitates robust collaborations 

and partnerships with industry and academia.

• Address planning, implementation, and budget needs to enable lunar surface activities across STMD programs.

• Collaborate with agency stakeholders, other government agencies, universities, industry, and international partners to better 

align the agency’s investments relative to lunar surface demonstrations. 

A key tenet of LSII is the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, a collaboration across industry, academia, and government to 

successfully develop the transformative capabilities for lunar surface exploration. The consortium assists NASA in:

• Identifying lunar surface technology needs and assessing the readiness of relative systems and components.

• Making recommendations for a development and deployment strategy of the technologies required for successful lunar surface 

exploration.

• Providing a central resource for gathering information, integrating technology interfaces, and sharing results.

NASA engineer with a lunar drill payload prototype.
36

APPENDIX 3: 

Core Mission Elements

The following cards represent the primary components under development or in early formulation for Artemis 

missions at the Moon. These are considered a snapshot and not fully representative of every system required 

for human-robotic lunar exploration. 
37
38
39
40
41
42

APPENDIX 4: 

Artemis Flight 

Readiness
43

Orion Water Impact Testing

Water impact testing provides high fidelity data of the forces that the 

Orion spacecraft structure and its astronaut crew would experience, 

helping to protect the crew and informing future designs. Engineers 

have conducted 16 drop tests of an Orion test article in the hydro 

impact basin at the Landing and Impact Research Facility at NASA’s 

Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. They investigated 

landing technologies, including air bags, retro rockets, shock absorbing 

struts and crushable structures. In 2011, ascent abort scenarios were 

performed in six drops during rough seas, and 10 drops with a ground test article using the heat shield from Exploration Flight Test1 tested atypical landing scenarios. The campaign of swing and vertical drops simulated water landing scenarios to account for 

different velocities, parachute deployments, entry angles, wave heights and wind conditions the spacecraft may encounter when 

landing in the ocean.

Orion Heat Shield Testing 

The Orion heat shield was redesigned from one piece to individual 

blocks of material following the Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014. 

This new design introduced several unknowns that prompted further 

testing and risk reduction. Engineers performed more than 30 tests 

across the United States on the new design to investigate the effects 

of the block structure that could disrupt the smooth airflow and 

cause localized heating spots. Understanding both effects is critical 

to confirm the heat shield will thermally protect the astronauts during 

reentry. Testing concluded in March 2019 at Langley with a 6-inch Orion heat shield model in the 20-inch Mach 6 wind tunnel. The 

6-inch Orion heat shield model was machined to represent small-scale features, including the patterns expected as the heat shield 

ablates, or slowly burns away as planned, during reentry flight. Orion’s heat shield will help it endure the approximately 5,000 

degrees Fahrenheit it will experience upon reentry. The heat shield that will protect Orion on Artemis I was installed on the crew 

module in Aug. 2018. 

Orion Parachute Testing

NASA completed the final test of Orion’s parachute system in 2018, 

at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, to qualify the 

system for Artemis flights with astronauts. Over the course of eight 

tests, engineers evaluated the performance of the parachute system, 

consisting of 11 parachutes, during normal landing sequences as well 

as several failure scenarios and a variety of potential aerodynamic 

conditions to ensure astronauts can return safely from deep space 

missions. The system has a series of cannon-like mortars, pyrotechnic 

bolt cutters, and more than 30 miles of Kevlar lines attaching the top of the spacecraft to the 36,000 square feet of parachute 

canopy material. In about 10 minutes of descent through Earth’s atmosphere, everything must deploy in precise sequence to slow 

Orion and its crew from about 300 mph to a relatively gentle 20 mph for splashdown in the ocean.
44

Orion Crew Module Uprighting System Testing

In March 2019, off the coast of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, 

engineers tested the crew module uprighting system (CMUS) to ensure 

the Orion capsule can be oriented right-side up once it returns from its 

deep space missions. When Orion splashes down in the ocean, it can 

settle in one of two positions. The CMUS deploys a series of five, bright 

orange airbags to flip the capsule right-side up in the event the Orion 

lands upside down. It takes less than four minutes for the system 

to upright the capsule to help protect the astronauts inside that are 

returning home from future deep space missions. Several tests performed with a mockup of the Orion crew capsule demonstrated 

that even if one of the airbags failed to inflate, the CMUS would still be able to perform as intended. The system was previously 

tested in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, a giant pool at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, primarily used for astronaut training, 

as well as off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Engineers also partnered with the Coast Guard in the Atlantic Ocean to test the CMUS in 

more challenging waves, similar to those where Orion is expected to land.

Orion’s Launch Abort System Testing

Orion’s launch abort system (LAS), designed to carry crew to safety in 

the event of an emergency during launch or ascent, is being rigorously 

tested before the first crewed Artemis mission. The LAS consists of 

three solid rocket motors: the abort motor pulls the crew module away 

from the launch vehicle; the attitude control motor steers and orients 

the capsule; then the jettison motor ignites to separate the LAS from 

Orion prior to parachute deployment and to ensure a safe crew landing. 

The LAS is managed by Langley and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight 

Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The attitude control motor and jettison motor have each been tested for the third and final time 

during hot, ambient and cold conditions. The abort motor has been tested twice. The final abort motor test is scheduled for 2022, 

marking the final test to qualify the LAS for the Artemis II mission with crew. In 2010, Orion’s LAS successfully tested the system 

from the launch pad during a pad abort test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. In July 2019, an ascent abort test at 

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida successfully demonstrated the system could outrun a speeding rocket and pull astronauts 

to safety under the greatest aerodynamic forces expected during ascent.

Orion Service Module Structural Testing

From November 2015 through March 2017, NASA, ESA (European 

Space Agency) and Airbus, ESA’s lead contractor for Orion’s European 

Service Module, completed evaluation of the full-size test version of 

the service module at the Space Environments Complex at NASA’s 

Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. These tests verified the flight 

readiness and structural integrity of the service module, which will 

carry air, nitrogen and water for the crew, as well as the spacecraft 

in-space propulsion and power systems. The first test focused on the 

successful deployment of the spacecraft’s solar array wings. The deployment of the 24-foot wing qualification model confirmed 

the array unfurled properly and locked into place and that all of the mechanisms functioned as expected. Next, the test article 

moved into the world’s most powerful reverberant acoustic test chamber, where it was blasted with more than 150 decibels and 

up to 10,000 hertz of sound pressure. The service module was then placed atop a vibration table to simulate launching on the 

Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Finally, the spacecraft’s fairings and adaptor were subjected to pyro-shock testing to simulate 

separation scenarios during launch and return to Earth.
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Orion Service Module Propulsion Testing

NASA and ESA completed 51 test sequences, conducted in two phases, 

to certify the European Service Module’s propulsion system for Artemis 

I using the Propulsion Qualification Module at the White Sands Test 

Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The test article was delivered by 

ESA and Airbus to White Sands in 2017, to verify the performance of the 

multiple types of rocket engines (orbital maneuvering system engine, 

auxiliary thrusters, reaction control system), propellant feed systems, 

and various other propulsion operations during nominal and off-nominal 

conditions.

Orion Structural Testing

Lockheed Martin engineers in Denver are conducting a series of tests 

using Orion’s structural test article comprised of three main elements: 

a crew module, service module and the launch abort system. During 

the next few months, the test articles will undergo load, acoustic, 

vibration, shock and lightning tests. The lightning test is nearing 

completion in spring 2020 and is collecting data to evaluate the 

indirect effects on an Orion spacecraft if a lightning strike occurred 

at the pad or during ascent. Final planning and preparations are 

underway in Denver for a pyro shock test to jettison the solar array fairings. The test will perform an ordnance operation in May 

2020 that will jettison the three fairings the cover the service module in a flight scenario. 

Orion Pressure Vessel Testing

In January 2016, technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility in New 

Orleans finished welding together the primary structure of the Orion 

spacecraft destined for deep space and prepared it for delivery to 

Kennedy in February. In May 2016, engineers at Kennedy conducted 

a series of tests on the spacecraft’s pressure vessel, or underlying 

structure of the crew module. Strain gauges measured the strength of 

the welds on the spacecraft as it was pressurized to greater than the 

maximum pressure it is expected to encounter on orbit.

Orion Power-on Testing

In August 2017, the Orion crew module was powered on at Kennedy 

for the first time. The tests verified the health and status of Orion’s 

core computers and power and data units to ensure the systems 

communicate precisely with one another to accurately route power 

and functional commands throughout the spacecraft. In spaceflight, 

Orion will generate power through its four solar array wings which 

collectively hold about 15,000 solar cells that can harness enough 

electricity to power eight three-bedroom homes. The power and data 

units then distribute that power as needed throughout the spacecraft.
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Orion Thermal Testing

Inside a specially constructed thermal cycle chamber in the Neil 

Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy, Orion 

successfully completed a thermal cycle test on the crew module in 

February 2018. Over several days, the crew module was rapidly cycled 

between hot and cold temperatures to thermally stress the hardware 

and ensure the workmanship of the crew module’s critical hardware 

and its subsystem operations. The cycle of temperatures for the initial 

thermal test ranged from 29 to 129 F during 105 hours of testing. Later 

that year, Orion’s heat shield was secured to the bottom of the crew module.

Orion’s European Service Module Delivery and Testing

In November 2018, the European-built service module that will 

propel, power and cool Orion during flight to the Moon on Artemis I 

arrived from Germany to Kennedy in the United States. In May 2019, 

engineers secured the service module inside a test cell and then 

attached microphones, strain gauges and accelerometers. They 

conducted a series of five tests, with acoustic levels ranging from 

128 to 140 decibels—as loud as a jet engine during takeoff – to help 

ensure the service module is prepared to endure the noises of launch 

and ascent to space. From July – November 2019, engineers at Kennedy stacked Orion and its service module inside the Final 

Assembly and Test (FAST) cell, connecting all power and fluid lines to complete hardware attachment.

Orion Integrated Crew Module and Service Module Testing

At the end of Nov. 2019, the Orion spacecraft for the first Artemis 

mission was delivered to Plum Brook Station for four months of 

rigorous simulated in-space environments testing. An international 

team of engineers and technicians completed the testing in two 

phases, beginning with a thermal vacuum test to simulate flying in 

and out of sunlight and shadow in space, while Orion’s systems were 

powered on. The second phase was an electromagnetic interference 

and compatibility test to ensure the spacecraft’s electronics work 

properly when operated at the same time. The test campaign was completed ahead of schedule in mid-March 2020 and confirmed 

the spacecraft’s systems perform as designed. Orion returned to Kennedy, and will undergo a final round of testing and assembly, 

including end-to-end performance verification of the vehicle’s subsystems, leak checks in the spacecraft’s propulsion systems, 

installation of its solar array wings, performing spacecraft closeouts and pressurizing a subset of its tanks in preparation for flight.

Orion Simulations with Mission Control and Integrated Test Lab

At Johnson’s Mission Control Center (MCC), flight controllers simulated 

part of Orion’s uncrewed flight to the Moon for Artemis I in June 2019. 

In early 2020, tests simulated launch through outbound powered 

flyby to the Moon, and return powered flyby from the Moon through 

entry, descent, and landing. Both tests were joint operations between 

Lockheed Martin and NASA Flight Operations allowing the teams to do 

real time monitoring and commanding of Orion at the Integrated Test 

Lab in Denver and from the MCC. 
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Artemis II Orion Pressure Vessel Fabrication and Delivery

The Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis II mission with crew was 

assembled at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The 

vessel is the primary structure that holds the pressurized atmosphere 

astronauts will breathe and work in while in the vacuum of deep space. 

It consists of seven large aluminum pieces that are joined together 

using friction-stir welding to produce a strong, yet light-weight, airtight capsule. The pressure vessel was loaded into the crew module 

transportation fixture and then lowered onto a heavy equipment semitrailer for the nearly 700-mile journey over land to Kennedy in August 2018. 

SLS RS-25 Engine Testing

Acceptance testing is complete for all 16 RS-25 engines that served 

as former space shuttle main engines. Tests at Stennis Space 

Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, have shown that the engines 

can perform at the higher power level needed to launch the super 

heavy-lift SLS rocket. NASA tested the first SLS flight engine in 

March 2016 and completed acceptance testing in April 2019. Testing 

included certifying new controllers (plus one spare) to be used by 

the heritage RS-25 engines. Altogether, the agency has conducted 

32 developmental and flight engine tests for a total of 14,754 seconds—more than four hours – of cumulative hot fire. Tests with 

development engines also tested new parts for future engines. Aerojet Rocketdyne made these parts with advanced manufacturing 

techniques, such as additive manufacturing and have the potential to increase reliability and sustainability of the engines. 

SLS Booster Testing

The SLS boosters are modeled after the space shuttle boosters but 

have an additional segment to provide more power and several other 

upgrades. The boosters completed five full-up test firings in a horizontal 

position with the final qualification motor test in June 2016 at Northrop 

Grumman’s facility in in Promontory, Utah. While the boosters are using 

metal casings and parts that were flown on space shuttle missions, 

they have many new and upgraded parts including new insulation 

and avionics systems to control flight that have been tested at 

Kennedy Space Center where they are assembled and outfitted. The booster motor segments for the first two Artemis missions are 

assembled and ready for stacking with other booster components at Kennedy. Teams have started testing small solid rocket motors 

that will help the agency build next-generation solid rocket boosters for future SLS flights.

SLS Wind Tunnel Testing

The SLS team has completed extensive wind tunnel testing at 

NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field California, Langley, 

and Marshall. These tests use scale rocket models to study how the 

vibration, base heating, and other environments affect the launch 

vehicle designs for both the Block 1 and Block 1B SLS configurations. 
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SLS Acoustic Testing

Researchers at Plum Brook Station completed a development test on a 

proposed design of acoustic panels for the SLS Universal Stage Adapter. 

The adapter will connect SLS and Orion on the future configurations 

of the rocket and provide additional cargo space. Given the extreme 

sound produced by the world’s most powerful rocket, this test series, 

conducted at Plum Brook’s Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility, provided 

data for acoustic modeling to ensure future payloads aboard the second 

configuration of SLS, called Block 1B, are protected from the high 

levels of noise and vibration experienced during launch. Even the Block 1 configuration of the rocket generates significant acoustic 

vibrations. Acoustic testing with a full-scale model of the SLS Block 1 was conducted early in the program at Marshall.

SLS Structural Testing 

Engineers at Marshall completed structural testing on the 212-foot 

core stage and the upper part of the rocket, which includes the stage 

that sends the Orion spacecraft to the Moon. These tests help verify 

models showing the structural design can survive flight. The core 

has five main structures that have all undergone extensive testing. 

Structural testing is complete for three of the four largest structures: 

the engine section, the intertank, and the liquid hydrogen tank. The 

liquid oxygen tank has completed baseline testing. In May 2017, the 

parts of the rocket that make up the upper part of the rocket for Artemis I completed integrated structural testing. This included 

the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), the launch vehicle stage adapter and the Orion stage adapter, as well as a frangible 

joint assembly. The adapters connect the parts of the vehicle, and the ICPS powered by one RL10 engine helps send Orion to the 

Moon. Both the ICPS and the RL10 have served on numerous flights of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with the RL10 just 

completing its 500th flight, and both have completed extensive testing.

SLS Core Stage Green Run Testing

The four Artemis I RS-25 engines are attached to the core stage, 

manufactured by Boeing, which was delivered to Stennis in January 

2020 and is undergoing Green Run testing, a thorough checkout of the 

new rocket stage that has never flown before. Green Run testing will 

culminate with firing all four engines at the same time, just as they will 

operate during launch. There are eight test cases that make up Green 

Run testing. Teams completed the first test in January 2020, before 

pausing test operations in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

After resuming testing in May, teams have steadily progressed through the test cases, completing the fifth test in September, and 

preparing for a hot fire test in the fall.

SLS Flight Software and Avionics Testing

The core stage flight computers and avionics are distributed 

throughout the rocket and have undergone extensive qualification 

testing in a laboratory and will now be tested during the Green Run. 

Flight software for the avionics is in the final phase of testing in a 

systems integration laboratory that uses avionics identical to flight 

hardware. The flight software has been tested by flying thousands 

of simulated launches and flights replicating both nominal and 

contingency operations. Avionics testing has been completed for the other SLS propulsion element that launches the rocket, the 

twin solid rocket boosters. 
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SLS Pathfinder Practice

In 2019, engineers and technicians practiced offloading, maneuvering 

and stacking the 212-foot-long SLS core stage using a full-scale 

mock-up called a pathfinder. In January 2020, engineers, technicians 

and crane operators practiced lifting and stacking operations with 

pathfinder segments of Northrop Grumman’s solid rocket boosters 

inside High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy. 

More booster pathfinder operations are planned before the arrival of 

flight hardware this summer. 

SLS Testing and Progress on Artemis II and Future Missions

Boeing has built all the structures for the second core stage for 

Artemis II and they are being outfitted at NASA’s Michoud Assembly 

Facility in New Orleans. The liquid hydrogen tank for Artemis III is 

built. Both the initial and evolved designs of SLS use the core stage 

and boosters. Much of the testing used to qualify these elements for 

Artemis I also applies to future flights. For Artemis II, the booster motor 

segments and RS-25 engines are also completed. The booster aft 

and forward skirts must be refurbished and outfitted at the Booster 

Fabrication Facility at Kennedy. The upper part of the rocket for Artemis II consisting of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage 

(ICPS), the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) and the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) are being manufactured in Alabama. For Artemis 

I, both the OSA and ICPS are at Kennedy, and the LVSA is nearly complete and will shipped to Kennedy later this year.

Mobile Launcher and Launch Pad 39B

The mobile launcher—the 380-foot-tall ground structure that will 

be used to assemble, process and launch SLS – has gone through 

a series of tests both in the VAB and Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy. 

Crawler Transporter 2 (CT2) completed a test rollout of the mobile 

launcher for integrated testing at newly renovated Launch Pad 39B, 

validating it can communicate effectively with the facility systems and 

ground systems to perform appropriately during launch. These multielement verification and validation tests included testing the sound 

suppression system, loading the cryogenic fuel system, a simultaneous umbilical swing test, and more. CT2 returned the mobile 

launcher to the VAB for modal testing with the mobile launcher sitting on the mount pedestals as well as with CT2 sharing the load. 

Exploration Ground Systems also conducted a six-hour pressurization test of the liquid oxygen tank at Launch Pad 39B, which has 

been upgraded for the SLS rocket. SLS will use both liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants. An initial test of xenon lights 

took place with the mobile launcher on the pad in October 2019, and additional lighting plans are in design. 

Simulated Propellant Loading

In August 2019, technicians at Kennedy simulated loading 

propellants into a replicated test tank for Orion, including putting 

on the Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) 

suits. SCAPE suits are used in operations involving toxic propellants 

and are supplied with air either through a hardline or through a 

self-contained environmental control unit. After donning the suits, 

the technicians completed a tanking to test the system before Orion 

arrives for processing. During preparations for launch, these teams 

will be responsible for loading the Orion vehicle with propellants prior to transportation to the VAB, where it will be secured atop 

the SLS rocket. 
50

Launch Control Center Simulations

The Artemis I launch team at Kennedy is conducting a series of 

simulations to test critical portions of the countdown to ensure 

everyone is ready to handle any situation launch day throws their 

way. Under the leadership of Launch Director Charlie BlackwellThompson, the team is testing cryogenic loading, terminal count and 

other portions of the launch software currently in the final phases of 

development. Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control Center has been 

upgraded for SLS and Orion. Advances in computer and software 

systems as well as swapping copper cables for fiber optics change the way workstations are configured compared to the shuttle 

and Apollo eras. This allows greater situational awareness by the launch controllers, and reduces the number of controllers needed 

on launch day. 

Recovery Testing at Sea

A joint NASA and Department of Defense team continues training at sea 

to improve landing and recovery operations for the Orion spacecraft 

and crew following future deep space exploration missions. Navy 

dive teams train at Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab before joining 

the rest of the team in the Pacific Ocean for tests at sea. The Landing 

and Recovery team, led by Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy, 

completed the eighth in a series of nine tests at sea in March 2020. The 

team is preparing for their final certification run in 2021 to ensure they 

are ready for splashdown of Orion after the Artemis I mission. 
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APPENDIX 5: 

Artemis Plan Funding 

Requirements
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NASA’s Artemis program will lead humanity back to the Moon and prepare for the human exploration of Mars. This lunar exploration 

strategy has two main components working simultaneously: 1) a near-term focus on achieving the initial human landing by 2024 

as efficiently as possible with acceptable technical risk and 2) the build-up of sustainable systems, informed by our initial missions, 

that will allow America’s human spaceflight program to maintain a robust lunar presence well into the next decade. NASA refers 

to these as Artemis Phase 1 and Artemis Phase 2 respectively. In addition to these two areas of Artemis, a third area of mission 

support spans the entire endeavor. Mission support includes the NASA capabilities, workforce, and facilities that are critical to the 

success of Artemis. This appendix provides a summary of the resources required through FY 2025. These resource requirements 

are consistent with the President’s FY 2021 budget request for NASA.

Activities to enable the return of humans to the Moon by 2024 

This estimate includes requested funding for Exploration Systems Development Programs, Artemis I-III flights, development and 

operation of the human landing system (HLS), lunar surface suits and logistics. Additionally, the estimate includes Exploration 

Technologies, and the Science Mission Directorate’s Lunar Discovery and Exploration. 

Exploration Systems Development (ESD): ESD’s mission is to develop the launch vehicle, spacecraft, and ground support systems 

necessary to send crew beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). ESD consists of three programs: Orion, Space Launch Systems (SLS), and 

Exploration Ground Systems (EGS). The Orion spacecraft will carry humans beyond LEO, provide emergency abort capability, sustain 

the crew during space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space. The SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built 

and the only rocket that can send crew in Orion with its life support systems to the Moon on a single mission. EGS develops and 

operates the systems and facilities needed to process and launch rockets and spacecraft during assembly, transport, and launch. 

In preparation of Artemis III mission to the lunar system in 2024, NASA is conducting additional testing on early Artemis missions. 

The Artemis I (uncrewed) mission will verify spacecraft performance and test Orion’s head shield, whereas the Artemis II (crewed) 

will validate deep space communication and navigation systems and ensure the resilience of life support systems. 

Human Landing Systems (HLS): The HLS program will utilize commercial partnerships to develop and jointly deploy a landing 

system to transport humans to and from the lunar surface. NASA expects its commercial partners will heavily leverage NASA 

technology and expertise throughout the development process, leading to a lunar transportation system that will deliver humans to 

the lunar surface in 2024, and develop and demonstrate a more sustainable HLS for subsequent crewed missions. 

Surface Suits (maintained in Gateway Budget): NASA is developing the Exploration EMU (xEMU) spacesuit system capable of 

supporting spacewalks both on the surface of the Moon and in microgravity environments. The crew will wear the xEMU as they 

explore the surface for up to seven days before returning to Orion for the trip home to Earth. This activity’s funding is maintained 

within the Gateway budget.

Surface Logistics (maintained in ACSC Budget): NASA is working to develop the mechanisms necessary to deliver the supplies 

necessary to support Artemis Mission on the Lunar Surface. This activity’s funding is maintained within the Advanced Cislunar and 

Surface Capabilities (ACSC) Budget

Exploration Technologies: Exploration Technology serves as a catalyst for the new technology required to “lead the return of 

humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization” (Space Policy Directive-1). Through the Exploration Technology 

account, the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) funds this critical technology research and development to support 

the 2024 lunar landing and the long-term success of the Artemis Moon to Mars campaign. These Artemis Phase 1 efforts enable 

technology research and development needs for human space exploration with a near-term focus on technology development 

priorities such as: autonomous operations, dust mitigation, and extreme environment technology. STMD aims to deliver the Solar 

Electric Propulsion in support of the Power and Propulsion Element of Gateway, develop technologies for Precision Landing and 

cryogenic fluid management.

Science Element - Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program (LDEP): LDEP in the Science Mission Directorate is a key component 

of the NASA’s Exploration Strategy. It includes the establishment of commercial contracts for lunar landing transportation services; 

the development of instruments that serve lunar science; long-term exploration and utilization needs; the development of smallsats 
54

that will provide innovative investigations; continued operations of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; and, the development 

of long-duration lunar rovers that will utilize commercially developed landers to get to the lunar surface. NASA is prioritizing 

capabilities that support lunar resource analysis and prospecting to inform future human spaceflight objectives and includes 

activities for Commercial Lunar Payload Services and the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). LDEP funding from 

FY 2021 through FY 2024 is considered part of Artemis Phase 1 to support capability development prior to the Artemis III mission.

The following table provides a summary of the Artemis Phase 1 funding requirements through FY 2025 that have been addressed 

in the preceding discussion. While Artemis III is planned for Calendar Year 2024, Fiscal Year 2025 begins on October 1st, 2024, and 

FY2025 will include costs associated with Artemis III mission operations and logistics, as well as post-demonstration follow-on 

analysis. The Artemis Phase 1 funding plan reflects the current requirements for Phase 1 within the overall FY 2021 President’s 

request, including current allocation of Artemis budget elements to Artemis Phase 1 and Artemis Phase 2.

Artemis Phase 1 Funding Requirements.

Overall Artemis Phase 1 funding to achieve a 2024 landing is not higher than prior plans for a 2028 landing.

Artemis Phase 1 funding requirements represent a more efficient and direct plan than NASA’s previous 

concept of the 2028 landing. While the funding requirements are accelerated and near-term amounts 

have comparatively increased, overall funding requirements for the 2024 Phase 1 effort are not higher and 

sustained lunar presence and future exploration are accelerated. 
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Appendix 6: NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration 

Development APPENDIX 6: 

NASA’s Plan for Sustained 

Lunar Exploration and 

Development
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APPENDIX 7: 

The Artemis Accords
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Principles for a Safe, Peaceful, and Prosperous Future 

Via the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024, heralding in a new era for space 

exploration and utilization.

While NASA is leading the Artemis program, international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust 

presence on the Moon while preparing to conduct a historic human mission to Mars.

With numerous countries and private sector players conducting missions and operations in cislunar space, it’s critical to establish 

a common set of principles to govern the civil exploration and use of outer space.

International space agencies that join NASA in the Artemis program will do so by executing bilateral Artemis Accords agreements, 

which will describe a shared vision for principles, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to create a safe and transparent 

environment which facilitates exploration, science, and commercial activities for all of humanity to enjoy.

Peaceful Uses

International cooperation on Artemis is intended not only to bolster 

space exploration but to enhance peaceful relationships between 

nations. Therefore, at the core of the Artemis Accords is the 

requirement that all activities will be conducted for peaceful purposes, 

per the tenets of the Outer Space Treaty.

Transparency

Transparency is a key principle for responsible civil space exploration 

and NASA has always taken care to publicly describe its policies and 

plans.

Artemis Accords partner nations will be required to uphold this 

principle by publicly describing their own policies and plans in a 

transparent manner.

Interoperability

Interoperability of systems is critical to ensure safe and robust space 

exploration.

Therefore, the Artemis Accords call for partner nations to utilize open 

international standards, develop new standards when necessary, and 

strive to support interoperability to the greatest extent practical.
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Emergency Assistance

Providing emergency assistance to those in need is a cornerstone of 

any responsible civil space program.

Therefore, the Artemis Accords reaffirm NASA’s and partner nations’ 

commitments to the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return 

of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space.

Additionally, under the Accords, NASA and partner nations commit to taking all reasonable steps possible to render assistance to 

astronauts in distress.

Registration of Space Objects

Registration is at the very core of creating a safe and sustainable 

environment in space to conduct public and private activities. Without 

proper registration, coordination to avoid harmful interference cannot 

take place.

The Artemis Accords reinforces the critical nature of registration and 

urges any partner which isn’t already a member of the Registration 

Convention to join as soon as possible.

Release of Scientific Data

NASA has always been committed to the timely, full, and open sharing 

of scientific data.

Artemis Accords partners will agree to follow NASA’s example, releasing 

their scientific data publicly to ensure that the entire world can benefit 

from the Artemis journey of exploration and discovery.

Protecting Heritage

Protecting historic sites and artifacts will be just as important in 

space as it is here on Earth.

Therefore, under Artemis Accords agreements, NASA and partner 

nations will commit to the protection of sites and artifacts with 

historic value.
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Space Resources

The ability to extract and utilize resources on the Moon, Mars, and 

asteroids will be critical to support safe and sustainable space 

exploration and development.

The Artemis Accords reinforce that space resource extraction and 

utilization can and will be conducted under the auspices of the Outer 

Space Treaty, with specific emphasis on Articles II, VI, and XI.

Deconfliction of Activities

Avoiding harmful interference is an important principle of the Outer 

Space Treaty which is implemented by the Artemis Accords.

Specifically, via the Artemis Accords, NASA and partner nations will 

provide public information regarding the location and general nature 

of operations which will inform the scale and scope of “Safety Zones”.

Notification and coordination between partner nations to respect such safety zones will prevent harmful interference, implementing 

Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty and reinforcing the principle of due regard.

Orbital Debris and Spacecraft 

Disposal

Preserving a safe and sustainable environment in space is critical 

for both public and private activities.

Therefore, under the Artemis Accords, NASA and partner nations 

will agree to act in a manner that is consistent with the principles 

reflected in the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Moreover, NASA and partner nations will agree to plan for the mitigation of orbital debris, including the safe, timely, and efficient 

passivation and disposal of spacecraft at the end of their missions.
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