The Artemis program is NASA's current effort to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there as a stepping stone to Mars and deeper space. It combines new rockets, spacecraft, lunar landers, commercial partnerships, and international cooperation to advance science, technology, and exploration goals.
Artemis matters because it shifts from short visits to a longer-term presence on the lunar surface, enabling research on lunar resources, testing life support and habitation technologies, and preparing for eventual human missions to Mars.
Establishes infrastructure and operational experience for sustained exploration, drives technological innovation, supports scientific discoveries about the Moon's history, and encourages commercial and international partners to invest in space capabilities. It also inspires workforce development and educational outreach.
Overall, Artemis is designed as a practical, phased approach: initial uncrewed tests, crewed lunar flybys and landings, then extended surface operations that build toward human missions to Mars.