On July 20, 1969, humans landed successfully on the moon and within hours would walk for the first time on a surface in space other than Earth. Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were on board the Eagle Lunar Lander. Michael Collins, the command module pilot, remained on board Apollo 11, circling the moon until the crew rejoined him. Together they would head safely home.

Neil Armstrong set the first footprint on the moon. The last to leave their mark on lunar regolith was Gene Cernan, in December 1972. With his final step he said, “As I take man’s last step from the surface, we leave as we came and as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”

The Artemis II mission concluded a successful flight orbiting the far side of the moon and testing the Orion spacecraft that carried them on April 10, 2026. NASA is now excitedly preparing step three of the Artemis missions. Rather than heading directly to the moon, Artemis III will echo the technology checks of Apollo 9, which performed a series of tests in Earth’s orbit preparing for the moon landing that would follow.

Announced on June 9, 2026, the Artemis III crew includes Andre Douglas, Luca Parmintano, Frank Rubio, and Randy Brenik, as commander.