On December 14, 1972,
astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt
blasted off the moon and headed home.
Astronaut: We're on our way, Houston!
Narrator: It was the last time any human stepped foot
on the lunar surface.
But NASA is hoping that's about to change.
This is the new era of space exploration.
And it's even more ambitious than before.
In May 2019, NASA officially announced
its new project, Artemis.
Dave Mosher: Artemis is NASA's big plan to go
back to the moon by 2024,
to land the first woman and the next man
on the surface of the moon.
Narrator: The mission was named in homage
to Apollo's twin sister, Artemis,
the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon.
But just because it bears a similar name
doesn't make it an Apollo rerun.
Where Apollo astronauts only spent hours or days
on the lunar surface,
Artemis astronauts will potentially
spend weeks there
to explore it for resources
and investigate the far side of the moon,
as well as to test technologies
for future deep-space missions.
This will give scientists a much better understanding
of the solar system, its history,
and how to operate in deep space.
And that's the pressing reason for this mission.
Mosher: But it's also a dry run for going to Mars,
which is much father and much harder.
The journey, instead of being three days to the moon,
is six to nine months.
So you need to practice these deep-space operations,
and you also need to practice surface operations.
The moon is a great place to go for that
because it's so close.
Narrator: But even though it's close,
that doesn't mean it's cheap.
NASA said it will need $20 billion to $30 billion
for the next mission.
That's up to $6 billion annually over the next five years,
and that's on top of its current $20-billion-plus
annual budget.
Though, for comparison, $30 billion is only
about 4% of the US's annual military budget.
Or about three of the Navy's newest nuclear submarines.
Now, a lot of Artemis' budget will go towards
building NASA's next-generation rocket,
the Space Launch System, or SLS.
Mosher: Space Launch System is this gargantuan rocket
that will actually take the astronauts
into orbit around Earth
and a bunch of the equipment they need to go up there, too.
Narrator: Once finished, it will be
the most powerful rocket ever made.
But things with the SLS haven't exactly gone to plan.
Mosher: The first rocket was supposed to launch in 2017,
and it's now 2019 and they're not looking
to launch the first one until 2021.
So they're years behind schedule,
billions of dollars over budget,
and they're supposed to make
one of these every year or two going forward.
Narrator: To top it off, SLS isn't reusable,
like SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.
So that means after each launch,
the rocket will be discarded.
That's an estimated $1.5 billion to $3 billion
NASA won't get back for every launch.
And that raises the question,
why doesn't it just team up with SpaceX
and use the Falcon Heavy?
Mosher: The advantages of SLS is that it's just bigger,
and that's important if you're trying
to get big space-station modules
and lunar landers out into space.
Narrator: Estimates show the Falcon Heavy could
launch a payload of about 21,000 kilograms to the moon,
whereas NASA says the SLS will lift more than twice that.
So, yeah, size definitely matters, but it's also about...
Mosher: Politics, jobs, and other missions.
So, politics, because
these people in Congress who pull the purse strings
have a lot of districts where NASA centers are located.
The second part, jobs, is because
there are tens of thousands of people employed to build
and maintain and do all the things you need to do
to create Space Launch System.
And the third part is that NASA is legally bound
to use this rocket for some missions,
including the Europa Clipper,
which is supposed to go out to Jupiter
and look for signs of life around one of its icy moons.
Narrator: Now, contrary to old sci-fi films,
rockets don't land on the moon.
There's a series of steps that happen first,
including rocket-stage separations
and reaching lunar orbit.
Now, for Apollo astronauts,
they flew their spacecraft into lunar orbit,
undocked the lunar lander,
and rode it down to the surface.
Artemis has bigger plans.
Like Apollo, Artemis will fly a spacecraft called Orion
towards the moon.
But then, instead of orbiting the moon by itself,
it will dock at what NASA has dubbed the Gateway.
Mosher: The Gateway is kind of like this
orbital outpost for the moon.
It's the place you go to sort of stock up,
get everything you need, get your affairs in order.
Narrator: So, it will act as a living space
for astronauts going to and from the moon.
But it will also house an in-space laboratory
and be a port for future deep-space missions,
such as a trip to Mars.
After two test missions to the moon's orbit,
NASA plans to start building the Gateway in 2022,
but astronauts still need a way to and from
the lunar surface.
That's where the lunar lander comes in.
And this is one part of the mission NASA might not build.
Mosher: Its administrator has said, look, commercial space,
like companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX,
they're getting better at this than we are.
Narrator: Whether NASA decides to team up or not
is a mystery right now.
But if anything is certain,
it's that temporary trips to and from the moon
will only be the start.
Ultimately, NASA wants a permanent lunar base
where astronauts can live and work on the moon.
Mosher: So, after the first landing, in 2024,
NASA is hoping to do one, about one a year, through 2028,
set up this moon base,
and then we're really talking about something interesting,
which is mining the moon for water.
Water you can split into hydrogen and oxygen,
which are two really important rocket fuels.
Narrator: Right now, humans are limited
to how far we can travel in space
by the amount of fuel in our rocket tanks at launch.
But once you can make rocket fuel in space,
then you can travel much farther.
Mosher: They want to set up this lunar base
on the surface to mine all the water
and make the Gateway this big, go-to destination
for refueling and this pit stop for Mars.
Narrator: And then, if they can figure all that out?
Mosher: We're talking about expanding the reach
of the human race throughout the solar system.
Narrator: Sounds great in theory,
but in reality, there's gonna be some tension.
Mosher: The politics of the moon are going to get very weird
in the coming decades
if we start building permanent human bases there.
China wants to go there, NASA wants to go there,
SpaceX wants to go there,
but international space law basically says
you can't claim any territory in space
or on another planet, another body.
Narrator: That's right, space law.
In 1967, the United Nations founded the Outer Space Treaty.
Ratified by 109 countries,
this first treaty sets boundaries for space travel.
There have been four more treaties since,
but the last was signed decades ago.
So, currently, space law is pretty outdated.
Mosher: The international space law has to catch up
to the current times.
And we haven't done that yet.
Narrator: For example, it lacks clarity,
especially with regards to mining resources.
There is nothing on who would own the resources,
whether they would need a license,
or how to settle disputes,
or even who can approve the mining in the first place.
Solving these and other issues will be key
to the new era of space exploration envisioned by NASA.
If it happens, that is.
Mosher: There isn't the political willpower,
because of that,
and we're really pinched for dollars,
with all of the domestic issues and climate change
and other major priorities
that are happening here on Earth.
So whether or not NASA can pull this off
remains to be seen.
Narrator: But even if NASA doesn't,
maybe someone else will.