As NASA’s Artemis II crew sweeps around the moon, the space mission does more than revive memories of Apollo. It marks the first time humans have traveled that far from Earth in more than 50 years, and it opens a new, uncertain chapter for the U.S. space program.
On Monday the four astronauts reached the deepest point in space ever flown by humans as Orion headed past the moon’s far side, a milestone NASA hopes will reset expectations for what comes after low-Earth orbit.
For NASA, the immediate future is no longer just about repeating the old lunar playbook. Artemis II is a crewed test flight, but the agency’s broader aim is to establish a sustained presence at the moon rather than brief flag-and-footprints visits. NASA is planning to follow up Artemis II with Artemis III which would serve as an orbital test of docking and lunar landing systems, and then with Artemis IV targeted for a crewed landing near the moon’s south pole in 2028.
All of this is expected to culminate in reaching the longer-term goal of building an “enduring presence” on the lunar surface.
That points to one of the biggest questions in space policy right now: what, exactly, will a moon base look like? Last month NASA announced it is moving away from its earlier plan for the Gateway lunar-orbit station and instead steering more of the program toward a surface base on the moon itself, potentially supported by robotic landers, drones and even nuclear power infrastructure.
Supporters of the lunar base plan argue this approach could make the moon a practical laboratory for learning how to live and work off Earth for long stretches. Critics say it also raises the stakes, because every added ambition increases cost, schedule pressure and technical risk.
But does the Moon base plan mean putting Mars on the back burner?
NASA has long described the moon as proving ground for eventual human missions to Mars, and the agency is also developing new technologies to send people to the red planet – allow them to live there and bring them back home.
Then there is the part of the space program that is less romantic but potentially just as important: protecting Earth. NASA’s planetary defense work, including missions to identify and potentially deflect hazardous asteroids, is increasingly part of the same future-facing argument for why the U.S. should remain active in deep space.
Guest:
Dr. Bruce Betts is Chief Scientist and LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society, the world’s largest space interest group.
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