What to Know About NASA’s First Crewed Moon Landing Since 1972

A Rutgers doctoral student explains the science behind the Artemis II program and what researchers hope to learn from a new era of lunar exploration

Artemis II, NASA's first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years, represents a shift from short visits toward sustained exploration, where understanding lunar geology and resources become as important as the engineering that gets astronauts there. Artemis II is currently scheduled to launch Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24 p.m. EDT, with backup launch opportunities through early April if needed.

Lindsay Pojdasek, a doctoral student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciencesat the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, studies the moon's mineral composition. She discusses both Apollo-era science and the emerging goals of Artemis.

What is the Artemis II mission?

NASA plans to return humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The goal is to land astronauts back on the lunar surface, with a longer-term vision of establishing a permanent base on the moon that can be used as a stepping-stone for future crewed missions to Mars and beyond.

This mission is the first crewed flight in the program. It will send four astronauts on a path that orbits Earth and does a figure-eight path around the far side of the moon while testing that the Orion spacecraft is functional and operates as designed with regards to systems like navigation, communication and life support.

Why now, more than 50 years after Apollo?

In the years since the last Apollo mission, scientists have continuously analyzed Apollo operations and data with a lessons-learned mindset. Combining this with the massive advances in technology and scientific knowledge since the Apollo era, we are ready to pursue more ambitious goals than before. The focus has shifted from simply putting humans on the moon to establishing a sustainable, long-term presence there.

What is special about the moon's south pole, where Artemis astronauts plan to land?

The moon's south pole contains numerous permanently shadowed craters - regions that have not received sunlight in over 1 to 2 billion years and therefore, are extremely cold. These craters act as cold traps, locations with temperatures low enough to freeze and trap volatiles like water ice. In-Situ Resource Utilizationwould allow humans to harvest the lunar ice as local resource for life support systems and rocket fuel production, rather than bringing these materials from Earth.

What scientific questions are planetary scientists hoping Artemis can answer?

Earth has been shaped and reshaped many times by liquid water, active plate tectonics and a thick atmosphere to help protect it from space weathering and impact events. Lacking in each of these, the moon's surface preserves a record of impacts and other surface-altering events like ancient volcanic eruptions. This makes the lunar surface a natural scientific laboratory for humans to study the origin and evolution of the Earth and moon, as well as the history of our solar system.

How will what we learn from Artemis help NASA send astronauts to Mars?

Artemis is all about testing and improving the technology needed for longer, more demanding missions, such as sending humans to Mars. Every aspect of the program has been designed with larger ambitions in mind, and the moon is an ideal testing ground due to its proximity to Earth and confirmed surface resources like water ice. Often, practice really does make perfect, so it makes a lot of sense to refine critical mission systems in a near-Earth, but still harsh planetary environment before setting onward to Mars. Life support, electricity generation, spacesuit maneuverability, long-term shelter and high-speed communication networks are all examples of systems that need to be proven reliable before humans can embark on a months- to years-long mission to Mars.

Why should the average person care about this mission?

Because it's incredibly inspiring and exciting to begin a new wave of space exploration! By putting humans on the moon, the Apollo missions were one of the most impressive accomplishments in human history. They inspired generations of people in so many ways, with some becoming planetary researchers or engineers and improving our collective knowledge and technology, and others becoming science-fiction writers who helped shape culture and media.

Explore more of the ways Rutgers research is shaping the future.