Artemis Program: Return to the Moon (NASA, 2022–present)

Artemis I launched in November 2022, sending the Orion capsule on a 25-day, 2.1-million-km uncrewed test flight around the Moon and back — the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever launched. Artemis II, carrying four astronauts on a lunar flyby, is planned for 2025, and Artemis III will land astronauts at the lunar South Pole for the first time, targeting permanently shadowed craters where water ice confirmed by multiple orbiters could support a permanent base. Artemis aims to establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon and serve as the stepping stone for the first human mission to Mars, targeting the late 2030s. After a 50-year absence, humanity is returning — this time to stay.