The Artemis Era
The return to the Moon — NASA's Artemis program and its international and commercial partners working to land the next humans on the lunar surface and build a sustained presence.
In brief
The renewed era of human lunar exploration.
Events of this era
- November–December 2022Artemis I Flies Around the Moon
The uncrewed Artemis I sends the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back on the first flight of NASA's program to return humans to the lunar surface.
- 26 September 2022DART Alters an Asteroid's Orbit
NASA's DART deliberately crashes into the moonlet Dimorphos and measurably changes its orbit — the first demonstration that humanity could deflect an asteroid.
DART was the first mission to change the orbit of an asteroid, demonstrating a technique for planetary defence.
- 23 August 2023Chandrayaan-3 Lands Near the Lunar South Pole
India's Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing near the Moon's south pole, making India the fourth nation to land on the Moon and the first near the south-polar region.
Knowledge connections
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.