SLS launches Orion into space. The spacecraft completes two elliptical orbits around Earth, verifying all systems are operating as expected before committing to the lunar trajectory.
At the beginning of a 24-hour highly elliptical orbit, the crew takes manual control of Orion for approximately two hours. Executing targeting maneuvers gathers performance data and prepares for Artemis III operations while mission control monitors from Houston.
After Orion separates from the ICPS upper stage, astronauts use the stage as a visual target to practice rendezvous and docking maneuvers — simulating future operations with the Gateway station and lunar landing systems. Targets on the ICPS serve as visual markers; the two craft do not make physical contact.
Orion fires its main engine to leave Earth orbit and begin the journey to the Moon. The spacecraft will travel approximately 250,000 miles to reach lunar space.
Orion flies approximately 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the Moon — the crew's closest approach to the lunar surface. From their unique vantage point they will see Earth nearly a quarter-million miles in the background and the Moon close in the foreground. They will conduct the Lunar Observations Campaign and test the radiation shelter during this phase.
The spacecraft relies on gravity to be pulled home, performing a powered flyby of the Moon to set the return trajectory. Orion re-enters Earth's atmosphere at 30 times the speed of sound, with the heat shield enduring temperatures approaching 5,000°F, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
Verify Orion's life support systems (ECLSS) with crew aboard in deep space
Demonstrate manual spacecraft control and targeting maneuvers
Test Orion crew survival system spacesuits during flight phases
Practice proximity operations and rendezvous with ICPS upper stage
Demonstrate Earth departure and return operations
Test radiation shelter and all crew radiation monitoring systems
Demonstrate communication and navigation systems beyond low Earth orbit
Conduct Lunar Observations Campaign — first humans to observe the Moon up close since 1972
Demonstrate laser communications (O2O) capability
Conduct full suite of human health experiments in deep space
Artemis I launched Nov. 16, 2022 as an uncrewed test flight. The Orion spacecraft traveled more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the Moon, spending nearly 26 days in space. Orion surpassed the distance record for a spacecraft designed to carry humans — previously set by Apollo 13 — by traveling 268,563 miles from Earth. That mission validated the systems Artemis II will rely on with crew.
Artemis III will land the first humans at the lunar South Pole region — the first Moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. After Artemis III, NASA and commercial and international partners will build an enduring presence at the Moon, leading eventually to the first crewed Mars missions.