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Artemis I: liftoff to splashdown
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By NASA
An artist’s concept design of NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle.Credit: NASA NASA has selected three instruments to travel to the Moon, with two planned for integration onto an LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) and one for a future orbital opportunity.
The LTV is part of NASA’s efforts to explore the lunar surface as part of the Artemis campaign and is the first crew-driven vehicle to operate on the Moon in more than 50 years. Designed to hold up to two astronauts, as well as operate remotely without a crew, this surface vehicle will enable NASA to achieve more of its science and exploration goals over a wide swath of lunar terrain.
“The Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle will transport humanity farther than ever before across the lunar frontier on an epic journey of scientific exploration and discovery,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By combining the best of human and robotic exploration, the science instruments selected for the LTV will make discoveries that inform us about Earth’s nearest neighbor as well as benefit the health and safety of our astronauts and spacecraft on the Moon.”
The Artemis Infrared Reflectance and Emission Spectrometer (AIRES) will identify, quantify, and map lunar minerals and volatiles, which are materials that evaporate easily, like water, ammonia, or carbon dioxide. The instrument will capture spectral data overlaid on visible light images of both specific features of interest and broad panoramas to discover the distribution of minerals and volatiles across the Moon’s south polar region. The AIRES instrument team is led by Phil Christensen from Arizona State University in Tempe.
The Lunar Microwave Active-Passive Spectrometer (L-MAPS) will help define what is below the Moon’s surface and search for possible locations of ice. Containing both a spectrometer and a ground-penetrating radar, the instrument suite will measure temperature, density, and subsurface structures to more than 131 feet (40 meters) below the surface. The L-MAPS instrument team is led by Matthew Siegler from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
When combined, the data from the two instruments will paint a picture of the components of the lunar surface and subsurface to support human exploration and will uncover clues to the history of rocky worlds in our solar system. The instruments also will help scientists characterize the Moon’s resources, including what the Moon is made of, potential locations of ice, and how the Moon changes over time.
In addition to the instruments selected for integration onto the LTV, NASA also selected the Ultra-Compact Imaging Spectrometer for the Moon (UCIS-Moon) for a future orbital flight opportunity. The instrument will provide regional context to the discoveries made from the LTV. From above, UCIS-Moon will map the Moon’s geology and volatiles and measure how human activity affects those volatiles. The spectrometer also will help identify scientifically valuable areas for astronauts to collect lunar samples, while its wide-view images provide the overall context for where these samples will be collected. The UCIS-Moon instrument will provide the Moon’s highest spatial resolution data of surface lunar water, mineral makeup, and thermophysical properties. The UCIS-Moon instrument team is led by Abigail Fraeman from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
“Together, these three scientific instruments will make significant progress in answering key questions about what minerals and volatiles are present on and under the surface of the Moon,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “With these instruments riding on the LTV and in orbit, we will be able to characterize the surface not only where astronauts explore, but also across the south polar region of the Moon, offering exciting opportunities for scientific discovery and exploration for years to come.”
Leading up to these instrument selections, NASA has worked with all three lunar terrain vehicle vendors – Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab – to complete their preliminary design reviews. This review demonstrates that the initial design of each commercial lunar rover meets all of NASA’s system requirements and shows that the correct design options have been selected, interfaces have been identified, and verification methods have been described. NASA will evaluate the task order proposals received from each LTV vendor and make a selection decision on the demonstration mission by the end of 2025.
Through Artemis, NASA will address high priority science questions, focusing on those that are best accomplished by on-site human explorers on and around the Moon by using robotic surface and orbiting systems. The Artemis missions will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
To learn more about Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
-end-
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jul 10, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Artemis Earth's Moon Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
2 Min Read I Am Artemis: Joe Pavicic
Listen to this audio excerpt from Joe Pavicic, Artemis operations project engineer
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Your browser does not support the audio element. Joe Pavicic will never forget when he told the Artemis launch director teams were NO-GO for launch.
Before Artemis I lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November 2022, the launch team made multiple launch attempts the months prior.
“During a previous Artemis I launch attempt, there was an issue with engine three,” said Pavicic, operations project engineer who worked on the engines console during Artemis I. “One sensor was showing that it wasn’t seeing liquid hydrogen through it. It was showing that it was at ambient temperature.”
And I had to tell the launch director, ‘We can't get there today with the current criteria that we have. My recommendation is a NO-GO.’
Joe pavicic
Operations Project Engineer
Prior to engine ignition, launch team controllers must first chill the engines before the cryogenic liquid propellant fuels and lifts the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft into the heavens and onward to the Moon. Chilling the engines ensures the hardware doesn’t get damaged when exposed to the super-cooled liquid hydrogen at -423 degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA/Kim Shiflett “We tried everything we could think of,” Pavicic recalls. “Any procedure we could try, we tried it, and we just never saw those rates that we should have.”
Thus, Pavicic, who is originally from West Palm Beach and studied aerospace engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, went back to the drawing board with the rest of his team, working days and nights rewriting procedures and learning new lessons about the engines and sensors until they were finally able to get to a successful launch.
“I just remember after I said, 'NO-GO,' I felt like all these people came to watch the launch, all my family, and I'm like, ‘I'm the guy,' but I told myself, ‘I'm not going to be the one to say this for the next launch attempt. I'm going to do what I can to get us there.’
joe pavicic
Operations Project Engineer
NASA successfully launched and flew the Artemis I mission and now, Pavicic is working as one of the operations project engineers, continuing to help the launch team develop new launch commit criteria and procedures within the launch countdown ahead of Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission, which will send four astronauts around the Moon and back in 10 days next year.
About the Author
Antonia Jaramillo
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Last Updated Jul 09, 2025 Related Terms
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3 min read Aaisha Ali: From Marine Biology to the Artemis Control Room
Article 2 days ago 2 min read NASA Announces Winners of 2025 Human Lander Challenge
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By NASA
As humanity prepares to return to the lunar surface, Aaisha Ali is behind the scenes ensuring mission readiness for astronauts set to orbit the Moon during Artemis II.
Ali is the Artemis ground control flight lead at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. She makes sure her team has the resources needed for the next giant leap to the Moon and beyond.
Aaisha Ali on console in the International Space Station Flight Control Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/Robert Markowitz My passion has always been science. I started by exploring the ocean, and now I get to help explore the stars.
Aaisha Ali
Artemis Ground Control Flight Lead
Ali received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston before beginning a career as a marine biologist. Her curiosity about science and communication eventually led her from studying marine life to sharing NASA’s mission with the public. With a robust skill set that includes public relations, media relations, and strategic communications, she went on to work at Space Center Houston and later at Johnson on the protocol and digital imagery teams.
Today, Ali leads the ground control team supporting Artemis II, ensuring that systems, simulations, and procedures are ready for the mission. Her role includes developing flight rules, finalizing operations plans and leading training sessions – known as “network sims” – that prepare her team to respond quickly and effectively.
“Because I’ve had a multifaceted career path, it has given me a different outlook,” she said. “Diversity of mindsets helps us approach problems. Sometimes a different angle is exactly what we need.”
Aaisha Ali, right, with her two siblings. Her perspective was also shaped by visits to her grandmother in the Caribbean as a child. “She lived in the tropical forest in a small village in Trinidad,” Ali said. “I was fortunate enough to spend summers on the island and experience a different way of life, which has helped me grow into the person I am today.”
Communication, she explained, is just as critical as technical expertise. “When we report to the flight director, we are the experts in our system. But we have to be clear and concise. You don’t get a lot of time on the flight loop to explain.”
That clarity, humility, and sense of teamwork are values Ali says have shaped her journey.
Aaisha Ali participates in a public affairs event at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston in 2005. We don’t do it by ourselves. Everyone — from our engineers to custodial staff to cafeteria workers — plays a role in getting us to the Moon. NASA is for the world. And it takes all of us.
Aaisha ali
Artemis Ground Control Flight Lead
Looking ahead, Ali is especially passionate about inspiring the Artemis Generation — those who will one day explore the Moon and Mars. She often shares advice with her nieces and nephews, including one determined nephew who has dreamed of becoming an astronaut since age 7.
“Do what you love, and NASA will find a place for you,” she said. “NASA is a big place. If you love the law, we have lawyers. If you love art, science, or technology, there’s a place for you. Passion is what we’re looking for.”
Aaisha Ali at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In her free time, Ali enjoys photography and connecting with nature by camping and visiting national parks. She also loves planning trips to Walt Disney World, meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and learning new things.
Even as her days are packed with simulations and mission prep, Ali knows landing astronauts on the lunar surface for Artemis III is not far behind.
“There’s a lot of uphill left to climb,” she said. “But we’re ready.”
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By European Space Agency
The Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite, which is hosting the instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, has been placed inside the nose cone of the Falcon 9 launch rocket and is ready for the scheduled liftoff at 23:03 CEST on Tuesday, 1 July.
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By NASA
NASA For some people, a passion for space is something that might develop over time, but for Patrick Junen, the desire was there from the beginning. With a father and grandfather who both worked for NASA, space exploration is not just a dream; it remains a family legacy.
Now, as the stage assembly and structures subsystem manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the BOLE (Booster Obsolescence Life Extension) Program — an advanced solid rocket booster for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) heavy lift rocket — Junen is continuing that legacy.
“My grandfather worked on the Apollo & Space Shuttle Programs. Then my dad went on to work for the Space Shuttle and SLS Programs,” Junen says. “I guess you could say engineering is in my blood.”
In his role, he’s responsible for managing the Design, Development, Test, & Evaluation team for all unpressurized structural elements, such as the forward skirt, aft skirt, and the integration hardware that connects the boosters to the core stage. He also collaborates closely with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to coordinate any necessary modifications to ground facilities or the mobile launcher to support the new boosters.
Junen enjoys the technical challenges of his role and said he feels fortunate to be in a position of leadership — but it takes a team of talented individuals to build the next generation of boosters. As a former offensive lineman for the University of Mississippi, he knows firsthand the power of teamwork and the importance of effective communication in guiding a coordinated effort.
“I’ve always been drawn to team activities, and exploration is the ultimate team endeavor,” Junen says. “On the football field, it takes a strong team to be successful — and it’s really no different from what we’re doing as a team at NASA with our Northrop Grumman counterparts for the SLS rocket and Artemis missions.”
As a kid, Junen often accompanied his dad to Space Shuttle launches and was inspired by some of the talented engineers that developed Shuttle. Years later, he’s still seeing some of those same faces — but now they’re teammates, working together toward a greater mission.
“Growing up around Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, there was always this strong sense of family and dedication to the Misson. And that has always resonated with me,” Junen recalls.
This philosophy of connecting family to the mission is a tradition Junen now continues with his own children. One of his fondest NASA memories is watching the successful launch of Artemis I on Nov. 16, 2022. Although he couldn’t attend in person, Junen and his family made the most of the moment — watching the launch live beneath the Saturn V rocket at Huntsville’s U.S. Space & Rocket Center. With his dad beside him and his daughter on his shoulders, three generations stood beneath the rocket Junen’s grandfather helped build, as a new era of space exploration began.
In June, Junen witnessed the BOLE Demonstration Motor-1 perform a full-scale static test to demonstrate the ballistic performance for the evolved booster motor. This test isn’t just a technical milestone for Junen — it’s a continuation of a lifelong journey rooted in family and teamwork.
As NASA explores the Moon and prepares for the journey to Mars through Artemis, Junen is helping shape the next chapter of human spaceflight. And just like the generations before him, he’s not only building rockets — he’s building a legacy.
News Media Contact
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
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