Greater than half a century after Apollo 11 modified the course of human historical past, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as soon as sat collectively and mirrored on the mission that carried them to the Moon and again.
The primary mission to land folks on one other world blasted off from Cape Canaveral on 16 July 1969, hurtling three males 250,000 miles atop the biggest operational rocket the world has ever identified – the Saturn V.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would land on the moon a number of days later, whereas Michael Collins orbited overhead within the command module. Collectively, they ceaselessly cemented each the mission and their locations in human historical past.
The Apollo program led to 1972, however its affect by no means light. The teachings realized from Saturn V launches, lunar navigation, life help programs, and deep area operations nonetheless form trendy spacecraft design. Apollo proved the Moon was reachable. What got here after required endurance, new know-how, and a special form of planning.
The subsequent chapter is now proper on our doorstep.
Artemis and the Return to Deep Area
NASA’s present human spaceflight effort is the Artemis program. In contrast to Apollo, Artemis is designed as a long-term structure moderately than a brief dash. The purpose is to determine sustained human presence on the Moon and use it as a proving floor for missions deeper into the photo voltaic system.
The primary uncrewed take a look at flight, Artemis I, flew efficiently in late 2022, sending the Orion spacecraft across the Moon and safely again to Earth. The subsequent step is way extra private.
Artemis II is the Subsequent Large Take a look at
Artemis II might be NASA’s first crewed mission past low Earth orbit since Apollo 17. The mission will ship 4 astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a roughly ten-day journey across the Moon earlier than returning to Earth.
NASA rolled out Artemis II to the launch pad on 17 January, aiming to ship 4 astronauts on a 10-day mission to the moon and again as quickly as 6 February 2026.
The crew contains:
Reid Wiseman, mission commanderVictor Glover, pilotChristina Koch, mission specialistJeremy Hansen of the Canadian Area Company, mission specialist
Artemis II is not going to land on the Moon. Its objective is validation. Life help programs. Communications. Navigation. Warmth protect efficiency. Crew operations in deep area. The whole lot that should work earlier than people try one other lunar touchdown.
And, speak about a full-circle second: Artemis II’s journey to the pad came about aboard NASA’s crawler-transporter CT-2, the exact same machine that carried Buzz Aldrin’s Saturn V rocket to the launch pad in 1969. Greater than fifty years aside, the identical metal crawler traced the identical gradual path from the Automobile Meeting Constructing towards historical past.
By way of distance from Earth, Artemis II will take astronauts farther than any human has traveled in additional than half a century.
The Street to Mars
Whilst Artemis II units its sights on the Moon, plans for sending people to Mars proceed to take form. NASA’s present timeline locations the primary crewed missions to Mars no sooner than the 2030s, although no agency launch date has been set.
That uncertainty displays the size of the problem. Earlier than people can set foot on Mars, NASA should exhibit:
Lengthy-duration life help programs that may function reliably for yearsDeep area propulsion able to shifting giant crews and cargoEntry, descent, and touchdown programs for Mars’ skinny atmosphereSurface habitats and ascent automobiles for the return journey
The Artemis missions, and certainly the Moon itself, are the testbed for all of it.
From Apollo to Artemis
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin mirrored on Apollo 11, they had been trying backward at a second that reshaped historical past.
Within the weeks forward, a brand new chapter of spaceflight historical past is ready to start. Artemis seems to be ahead with the identical spirit that drove Apollo and the American heroes who made it doable.
And you may guess that AvGeekery might be there to inform the story!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This text was initially revealed on 16 July 2017. It was up to date on 20 January 2026 with the most recent data on NASA’s Artemis program.
Comply with Mike Killian on Instagram and Fb, @MikeKillianPhotography.
