Artemis 4

Artemis IV
	Summary of the Artemis 4 mission plan
Mission type	Gateway Assembly
Operator	NASA
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Orion (spacecraft); I-Hab
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin (Orion CM); Airbus (Orion ESM); Thales Alenia Space (I-Hab);
Start of mission
Launch date	2027 (planned)
Rocket	SLS Block 1B (Orion)
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B
Contractor	NASA
End of mission
Landing site	Pacific Ocean (planned)
	Artemis program ← Artemis 3 Artemis 5 →

Artemis 4 (officially Artemis IV) is the fourth planned mission of NASA's Artemis Program. The mission will launch four astronauts on a Space Launch System rocket and an Orion to the Lunar Gateway.^[2]

Overview

The main objective of the mission will be assembly of the Lunar Gateway. The mission will deliver the I-Hab habitat module, developed by the European Space Agency and the Japanese space agency JAXA, to the Gateway. The module will be docked with the first Gateway elements, the Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost.

The astronauts will then board a Starship HLS docked to the station and descend to the lunar surface for a multi-day mission.^[1]

Artemis IV will also be the first flight of the Block 1B version of the Space Launch System, which will replace the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage used on the first three Artemis missions with the more powerful Exploration Upper Stage.

Crew

ESA has indicated that their objective is that Artemis IV would be the first mission of an ESA astronaut to the Gateway.^[3]

Spacecraft

Space Launch System

The Space Launch System is a super-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit. This will be the first Artemis mission to use an SLS Block 1B rocket with an advanced Exploration Upper Stage for four upcoming missions until the proposed Artemis 9, which will use SLS Block 2 with advanced boosters.

Orion

Orion is the crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It will transport the crew from Earth to the Gateway orbit, dock to the Gateway, deliver the I-Hab module to the Gateway, and return them back to Earth.

Gateway

Gateway is a small modular space station to be established in Near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) in late 2024. The first two Gateway elements will launch together aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and spend a year spiraling out to the near-rectilinear halo orbit around the moon prior to Artemis IV.^[4]

The Lunar Gateway Phase 1 orbiting the Moon

References

^ ^a ^b Foust, Jeff (30 October 2022). "Lunar landing restored for Artemis 4 mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
^ Foust, Jeff (20 January 2022). "NASA foresees gap in lunar landings after Artemis 3". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
^ Foust, Jeff (26 September 2022). "NASA and ESA sign lunar cooperation statement". SpaceNews. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
^ Foust, Jeff (10 February 2021). "NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch first Gateway elements". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

External links

[sn-20221030-1] Foust, Jeff (30 October 2022). "Lunar landing restored for Artemis 4 mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 31 October 2022.

[2] Foust, Jeff (20 January 2022). "NASA foresees gap in lunar landings after Artemis 3". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

[3] Foust, Jeff (26 September 2022). "NASA and ESA sign lunar cooperation statement". SpaceNews. Retrieved 12 October 2022.

[4] Foust, Jeff (10 February 2021). "NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch first Gateway elements". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

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