Artemis 5

Artemis V
Mission type	Crewed lunar landing, Gateway Assembly
Operator	NASA
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Orion; Gateway Space Station; Lunar Exploration Transportation Services lander
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin (Orion CM); Airbus (Orion ESM); SpaceX (Starship HLS);
Start of mission
Launch date	2028 (planned)
Rocket	SLS Block 1B (Orion)
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B
End of mission
Landing site	Pacific Ocean (planned)
Moon lander
Landing site	South polar region
	Artemis program ← Artemis 4

Artemis 5 (officially Artemis V) is the fifth planned mission and third crewed landing of NASA's Artemis Program. The mission will launch four astronauts on a Space Launch System rocket and an Orion to the south pole of the Moon. In addition, Artemis V will also deliver two new elements to the Gateway Space Station.^[2]

Overview

Artemis V will launch four astronauts to the Gateway Space Station. The mission will deliver the European Space Agency's ESPRIT refueling and communications module and a Canadian-built robotic arm system for the Gateway. Also delivered will be NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle.

After docking to the Gateway, two astronauts will board to a docked Lunar Exploration Transportation Services lander and fly it down to the Lunar south pole with the Lunar Terrain Vehicle on board. This will be the first lunar landing since Apollo 15 to utilize an unpressurized lunar rover.

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.

Orion

Orion is the crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It will transport the crew from Earth to the Gateway orbit, 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 in late 2024.^[3] The I-Hab habitat module will be delivered by Artemis 4.

Lunar Exploration Transportation Services (LETS) lander

The LETS lander will transfer astronauts from the Gateway to the Lunar surface and back. The goal of LETS program is to develop one, and possibly more, landers from different companies to provide "sustainable" landing services. The LETS landers have not been selected yet, and may or may not include the SpaceX Lunar Starship.

Lunar Terrain Vehicle

The Lunar Terrain Vehicle is an unenclosed rover being developed by NASA that astronauts will drive on the Moon while wearing their spacesuits.

References

^ Foust, Jeff (30 October 2022). "Lunar landing restored for Artemis 4 mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 31 October 2022. That same schedule expects Artemis 3 to launch no earlier than 2025, with Artemis 5 to follow in 2028 as part of an annual cadence of missions.
^ Foust, Jeff (20 January 2022). "NASA foresees gap in lunar landings after Artemis 3". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
^ Foust, Jeff (10 February 2021). "NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch first Gateway elements". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

External links

Orion website at nasa.gov
Space Launch System website at nasa.gov

[1] Foust, Jeff (30 October 2022). "Lunar landing restored for Artemis 4 mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 31 October 2022. That same schedule expects Artemis 3 to launch no earlier than 2025, with Artemis 5 to follow in 2028 as part of an annual cadence of missions.

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

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

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