Science & Technology March 13, 2026 4 min read Daily brief · #64 of 185

NASA says it’s ready to go back to the moon for the first time in 50 years

NASA's Artemis II mission (April 1–11, 2026) was the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972 — a gap of 54 years. The mis...

GS Paper 3 (Science & Technology Space)

What Happened

NASA's Artemis II mission (April 1–11, 2026) was the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972 — a gap of 54 years.
The mission carried four astronauts: Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch (Mission Specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist, Canadian Space Agency) aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
The crew conducted a lunar flyby — travelling around the Moon and back without landing — reaching a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous distance record set by Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.
The astronauts splashed down successfully off the coast of San Diego on April 11, 2026, completing a nearly 10-day mission.
NASA described Artemis II as the "opening act" of a new lunar relay race — with Artemis III (Earth orbit test, mid-2027), Artemis IV (lunar landing, early 2028), and Artemis V (second lunar landing, late 2028) planned next.

Static Topic Bridges

NASA's Artemis Programme — Goals, Architecture, and International Partnerships

The Artemis programme is NASA's flagship initiative to return humans to the Moon and eventually enable sustainable lunar presence as a stepping stone toward crewed Mars missions. It is named after the Greek goddess of the Moon (and twin of Apollo).

Artemis I (2022): Uncrewed test of the Orion–SLS system on a lunar flyby — confirmed vehicle readiness.
Artemis II (2026): First crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 (1972); crew included the first woman (Christina Koch) and first Black astronaut (Victor Glover) to fly on a lunar mission.
The Space Launch System (SLS) is the most powerful rocket NASA has built since the Saturn V used in the Apollo programme.
The Artemis programme aims to establish the Lunar Gateway — a planned orbital space station around the Moon — for sustained exploration and as a staging post for Mars.
International collaboration: 21 countries have signed the Artemis Accords (as of 2026), including India, which signed in June 2023 — committing to norms of responsible, transparent, and peaceful lunar exploration.

Connection to this news: Artemis II's success transitions the programme from test phase to operational crewed exploration, making future missions including lunar landing realistic within this decade.

Apollo Programme — Historical Context and Scientific Legacy

The original Apollo programme (1961–1972) was the United States' Cold War-era Moon programme, motivated by superpower competition with the Soviet Union. It represents the foundational benchmark against which all subsequent lunar missions are measured.

Apollo 11 (July 1969): First crewed lunar landing; Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon.
Apollo 17 (December 1972): Last crewed Moon mission before Artemis II — astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Gene Cernan.
Apollo programme returned 382 kg of lunar rock and soil samples — still being studied.
Apollo 13 (1970): Famous mission abort due to oxygen tank explosion; crew's distant lunar swing-by created the prior farthest-from-Earth record that Artemis II surpassed.

Connection to this news: Artemis II explicitly bookmarks the 54-year gap since Apollo 17 — understanding Apollo's scope and legacy is essential context for evaluating Artemis's significance.

India's Lunar Programme — Chandrayaan Series and International Cooperation

India has independently developed a lunar exploration capability through ISRO's Chandrayaan programme, and is now integrating with international Artemis-era cooperation.

Chandrayaan-1 (2008): First Indian lunar mission; confirmed the presence of water molecules on the Moon using the Moon Impact Probe and the NASA-provided Moon Mineralogy Mapper.
Chandrayaan-2 (2019): Orbiter (operational), Vikram lander (crash-landed), Pragyan rover (not deployed).
Chandrayaan-3 (2023): Successfully landed Vikram lander and deployed Pragyan rover on the Moon's south polar region on August 23, 2023 — India became the 4th country to achieve a soft lunar landing and the first to land near the south pole.
India signed the NASA Artemis Accords in June 2023 during PM Modi's state visit to the US.
ISRO and NASA are jointly working on the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite — deepening the India–US space partnership.
Lupex (Lunar Polar Exploration Mission): ISRO–JAXA joint lunar mission planned to explore water ice near the south pole.

Connection to this news: India's Chandrayaan-3 success in the same lunar south polar region that Artemis plans to target makes India a credible scientific partner in the emerging international lunar economy.

Key Facts & Data

Artemis II: April 1–11, 2026 — first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 (1972), a 54-year gap.
Crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch (NASA), Jeremy Hansen (CSA).
Farthest distance from Earth: 252,756 miles — breaking Apollo 13's record from 1970.
Splashdown: Off coast of San Diego, April 11, 2026.
Artemis Accords signatories: 21 countries, including India (signed June 2023).
Chandrayaan-3 (August 23, 2023): India first to soft-land near Moon's south pole.
Artemis III (crewed landing): planned mid-2027 on lunar south pole.
Space Launch System (SLS): Most powerful NASA rocket since Saturn V.
Apollo 17 (December 1972): Last Apollo Moon mission; last humans to set foot on Moon before Artemis era.