Mission record
ARTEMIS
Also known as ARTEMIS-P1, ARTEMIS-P2, Explorer 86, Explorer 87, MIDEX/THEMIS, THEMIS-B, THEMIS-C, THEMIS-P1, THEMIS-P2
National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Launched
Explore trajectoryActive · Active
Two of the five THEMIS spacecraft, repurposed years after launch and moved into lunar orbit to study the Moon's interaction with the solar wind from two vantage points.
- Destinations
- Launch vehicle
- Delta II 7925
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral, United States
- Countries
- United States
- Mission types
- Orbiter, Heliophysics
Chronology
Mission timeline
Launch
The five THEMIS spacecraft launched together on a Delta II 7925
Milestone
THEMIS-B and THEMIS-C were repurposed to study the lunar environment and renamed ARTEMIS
The page dates the decision only to 2009 and "late 2009", so the event carries year precision.
MoonOrbit insertion
Both spacecraft were moved into equatorial lunar orbits of roughly 100 x 19000 km
The page says this happened "in June and July 2011" without saying which spacecraft moved in which month, so the event carries year precision rather than asserting either.
Moon
Mission architecture
Vehicles
Trajectory record
Time-dependent navigation trajectory
Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.
Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.
- ARTEMIS-P1: Reconstructed · February 18, 2007 to September 30, 2026
- ARTEMIS-P2: Reconstructed · February 18, 2007 to September 30, 2026
Provenance
Sources
Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.
Data verified through October 11, 2026
- ARTEMIS - NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- THEMIS-C (ARTEMIS-P2) - NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- THEMIS-B (ARTEMIS-P1) original spacecraft description — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS-C (ARTEMIS-P2) original spacecraft description — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS original L1 state and spin-model definitions — NASATechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS original time and CDF variable associations — NASATechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS original probe and geophysical coordinate systems — NASATechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS native spin-segment algorithm — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS native GEI, J2000 and Sun-direction algorithms — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- THEMIS-ARTEMIS - NASA Science mission page — NASAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Folta et al., Stationkeeping of Lissajous Trajectories in the Earth-Moon System with Applications to ARTEMIS — NASATechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- DE421 lunar mean-Earth and principal-axes frame specification — NAIFTechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- DE440 lunar mean-Earth and principal-axes frame specification — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- IAU rotational elements and body radii (PCK 00011) — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- LOLA global lunar height maps, LDEM_4 V3 original PDS source label — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- LOLA 2023 south-polar elevation, uncertainty and effective-resolution maps — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Seen From Above: LROC site and terrain context — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- Moon Facts — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context
- SLDEM2015 Blue Ghost region: original PDS elevation-grid label — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- JPL Solar System Dynamics Astrodynamic Parameters — JPLOther · Supports: destination/body context