It was one of the most historic moments in space exploration. In 1969, two humans set foot on the moon for the first time. Over the next three years, 10 more men did the same. But no one has been back in nearly 50 years.
That will soon change. NASA, the U.S. space agency, has announced plans to land astronauts on the moon in 2024. This mission will also be historic—it will include the first female astronaut to walk on the lunar surface.
The program to return to the moon is called Artemis, and it’s already underway. NASA is currently testing a powerful new rocket that will launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon next year. And researchers are testing out newly designed spacesuits for the future mission to the moon.
When the Artemis astronauts finally land on the moon in 2024, they will collect samples and conduct science experiments. They'll research ways that humans living on the moon could use water that was discovered there about 10 years ago. One of NASA's main goals is to use the information researchers learn on the moon to send astronauts to Mars one day.