CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Following in the footsteps of NASA’s legendary Apollo missions presents a formidable challenge, even decades later.
With four astronauts preparing to embark on humanity’s first lunar journey in more than 50 years, drawing parallels between the historic Apollo program and NASA’s current Artemis initiative is unavoidable.
The initial lunar explorers circled the moon during Apollo 8, while the Artemis II team will take a more conservative approach, performing a flyby mission that loops around the moon before returning to Earth.
A significant distinction lies in representation: Artemis showcases greater diversity in society, featuring a female astronaut, a person of color, and a Canadian crew member.
Though Artemis draws inspiration from Apollo and honors its legacy, “there is no way we could be that same mission or ever hope to even be,” explained NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who is part of the Artemis II team.
Here’s how Apollo compares to Artemis, named after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology, as NASA prepares for launch during the first week of April.
NASA accomplished the remarkable feat of advancing from its first human spaceflight to landing Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface in just eight years, meeting President John Kennedy’s ambitious end-of-decade goal in 1969.
“The Apollo program still just absolutely blows me away,” remarked Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
In contrast, Artemis has advanced at a much slower pace, following years of uncertainty and changing priorities between lunar and Martian exploration. NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket has completed only one unmanned test flight more than three years ago.
This deliberate pace prompted NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman to restructure the Artemis program in February. Seeking to mirror Apollo’s approach, he inserted an additional mission between the upcoming Artemis II flight and the moon landing, which has been postponed to Artemis IV in 2028.
Next year’s revised Artemis III mission will keep astronauts closer to Earth, similar to Apollo 9’s approach in 1969. Rather than attempting a lunar landing as initially planned, crew members will practice connecting their Orion spacecraft in Earth orbit with lunar landing vehicles being developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Both companies are racing to complete their designs first.
While the Soviet Union served as America’s primary competitor during Apollo, their lunar rockets repeatedly failed at launch, eventually forcing them to abandon their efforts. Today, China represents the main competition.
China has already successfully landed robotic missions on the moon’s far side — a unique achievement among nations — and is working urgently to place astronauts near the lunar south pole by 2030.
NASA targets the same polar area, where permanently shadowed craters likely contain substantial ice deposits that could supply drinking water and rocket fuel. Like his predecessor Bill Nelson, Isaacman is committed to defeating China in this new space competition.
Apollo’s Saturn V rockets measured 363 feet tall with five first-stage engines. The Artemis SLS rocket stands at 322 feet but generates greater liftoff power through its four main engines and two additional boosters.
Nearly all Saturn V rockets launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39-A, currently leased by SpaceX. NASA will utilize the adjacent pad 39-B for all SLS missions. While Saturn V flew twice before carrying astronauts, SLS has flown just once. Hydrogen fuel leaks postponed the SLS debut in 2022 and occurred again during February’s countdown test, delaying Artemis II. Additional helium problems caused further setbacks, with NASA now planning an April launch.
Mission Control operates from the same location. During Apollo 11’s launch, one woman worked in the crowded firing room. Today, a woman directs operations: Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.
Apollo 8 remains history’s boldest space mission. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders became the first humans to travel to the moon in 1968. Commander Borman insisted on minimizing lunar orbits due to safety concerns. He and mission leaders agreed on 10 orbits as preparation for 1969’s moon landing by Armstrong and Aldrin.
NASA chose against lunar orbit for Artemis’ first crewed mission, considering it too risky. The primary objective involves testing the Orion capsule’s life-support systems during their first human flight.
Both Apollo 8 and Artemis II share the similarity of launching during challenging global times. “If we can contribute a little bit to hope for humanity,” said Artemis II pilot Victor Glover of NASA, “that is a huge thing.”
The Artemis crew will circle Earth for one day to verify all systems function correctly before firing the main engine toward the moon. The journey to the moon will require three to four days, continuing approximately 5,000 miles beyond, surpassing the distance record established by 1970’s troubled Apollo 13.
Similar to Apollo 13, Artemis II will utilize lunar and Earth gravity, creating a figure-eight pattern after swinging around the moon for the return journey in what’s called a free-return trajectory that uses minimal fuel. This path safely returned Apollo 13’s three astronauts despite their aborted moon landing.
Artemis astronauts will splash down in the Pacific Ocean following their mission, just like Apollo crews.
During Apollo, the white, bulky spacesuits served multiple purposes. Astronauts wore the same suits for launch, return, and moonwalks due to limited storage capacity for different equipment.
Artemis Orion capsules are larger, accommodating four astronauts instead of three, plus two spacesuit sets. NASA developed new spacesuits for capsule use while contracting private companies for moonwalking gear.
Commander Reid Wiseman and his team will wear orange custom-fitted suits during launch and reentry. They’ll also use them during emergencies like depressurization. The suits can sustain astronauts for up to six days, with helmet straws for drinking water or protein shakes and built-in waste management systems.
Houston-based Axiom Space is creating the white moonwalking suits for future Artemis missions.
Apollo focused on defeating the Russians and planting the American flag. Astronauts landed six times between 1969 and 1972, with the longest surface visit lasting 75 hours. Five of the 24 Apollo astronauts who traveled to the moon remain alive today.
For Artemis’ first moon landing, two astronauts could spend nearly a week on the surface. The plan is more complex than Apollo’s approach.
Artemis moonwalkers will travel to the moon in Orion and, once in lunar orbit, transfer to either SpaceX’s Starship or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, depending on which is ready first. They’ll land on the surface and, after several days, launch back into orbit to meet their Orion capsule for the trip home.
NASA aims for permanent lunar habitation, with Mars missions to follow, though “day one of the moon base is not going to look like this glass-enclosed, domed city,” Isaacman noted. Last week, he revealed plans for the moon base featuring living quarters, rovers, drones, power stations and additional infrastructure. NASA intends to invest $20 billion over the next seven years.
