NASA’s Plan to Return to the Moon

NASA is sending humans to the lunar neighborhood for the first time in more than half a century. It’s a pivotal moment for the space agency’s Artemis program, whose next step is to send astronauts back to the moon itself.

The ultimate goal is to establish a base and learn to live there sustainably. But first NASA needs a dress rehearsal. Called Artemis II, this mission will send a crew of four on a lunar flyby, testing out the spacecraft that will eventually be used to help land humans on the surface.

The crew includes the first woman, the first person of color and the first Canadian to fly within the moon’s vicinity. While it stands to be a momentous achievement for NASA and the US space program, what happens next remains in doubt. Much of the spacecraft and hardware needed for the following Artemis III mission, which will actually land people on the surface, aren’t ready yet. Plus, critics have pointed out the program is billions of dollars over-budget and contend it’s unsustainable in the long term.