The UK has joined NASA’s Artemis programme which is aiming to return humans to the surface of the moon.

The project, which involves commercial and international partners around the world, is aiming to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon by 2025.

December 2022 will mark 50 years since Apollo 17 - the last human landing on the Moon.

The Artemis programme marks the next chapter of human space exploration with a sustainable presence on the lunar surface as a stepping stone to the first human mission to Mars.

The Artemis I mission will see the first launch of the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will take the NASA-built Orion capsule, with the European-built service module that includes Orion’s engines, towards the Moon.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I is the first uncrewed flight before NASA sends the first crewed Artemis mission into space in 2024.

The agency expects the first Artemis astronauts to land on the lunar surface in 2025.

Artemis I is set to launch from Florida on 29 August 2022, at around 1:30pm BST.

A recent PwC study estimated that the lunar economy is set to reach a value of $170 billion (£144 billion) by 2040.

UK scientists will be able to track the Artemis I mission in the UK from Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, which the government hailed as a major step for the UK capacity to offer commercial lunar communications from the UK.

The UK is also making contributions to the Lunar Gateway - a space station currently in development that will orbit the Moon - as part of the Artemis programme.

Thales Alenia Space UK will provide the refuelling module on the Gateway, which will support future lunar missions. Imperial College London is also providing a magnetometer for the Lunar Gateway, as part of the European Radiation Sensor Array.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd’s Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will offer communications and navigation services on the lunar surface from 2025. UK companies are also involved in some of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) missions that will see lunar payloads delivered to the surface of the Moon by commercially operated companies.

In 2020, the UK signed the Artemis Accords with NASA and partner space agencies around the world.

The US worked with the UK, along with other spacefaring nations including Japan, Australia, Canada, Italy and the UAE, to develop the Artemis Accords: a set of principles to ensure a shared understanding of safe operations, use of space resources, minimising space debris and sharing scientific data.

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