Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the moon in Greek mythology. NASA has chosen her to personify its path back to the moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2025 - including the first woman and the next man. Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars. Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASA's deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond.

They began as tinfoil-like onesies that first took humanity beyond the confines of Earth. But NASA's spacesuits have evolved dramatically through the years to help astronauts survive in the vacuum of space and ultimately allow a man to hop, skip and jump on the moon. Now, the US space agency has revealed its next generation of spacesuit -- expected to be ready for the Artemis III mission that could land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface by 2025. The new suit is said to be a better fit for female space travellers and comes with specialist features to support astronauts as they carry out scientific experiments on the moon. But what were the various spacesuits that came before it?

NASA has shared new photos of the incredible moment the Orion space capsule returned to Earth after flying around the moon. The unmanned Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, at 09:40 PST (17:40 GMT) on Sunday. Since its launch in mid-November, it has travelled more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the moon and back to Earth. The images show before and after the historic point of impact, which marks the first part of Artemis – NASA's successor to the Apollo programme in the 1960s and 1970s. NASA's Orion Capsule descends toward splash down after a successful uncrewed Artemis 1 Moon Mission on December 11, 2022 seen from aboard the USS Portland in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico Artemis 1 is NASA's uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, which launched on November 16 from Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida.

NASA's Artemis programme is already breaking records, less than two weeks after its very first spaceflight launched. The agency has confirmed its Artemis 1 Orion capsule smashed the record for the furthest distance travelled from Earth by any craft designed to carry humans. At 08:40 EST (13:40 GMT) on Saturday (November 26), Orion reached 248,655 miles from Earth, beating the record set by Apollo 13 in April 1970. Then, at 16:06 EST (21:06 GMT) on Saturday, it reached the farthest point in its orbit – a maximum distance of 268,553 miles. Artemis 1 is an uncrewed test flight for NASA's Artemis programme, comprising the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

The Artemis 1 Orion crew vehicle has set a new record for a NASA flight. At approximately 8:40AM ET on Saturday, Orion flew farther than any spacecraft designed to carry human astronauts had ever before, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 back in 1970. As of 10:17AM ET, Orion was approximately 249,666 miles ( from 401,798 kilometers) from Earth. "Artemis I was designed to stress the systems of Orion and we settled on the distant retrograde orbit as a really good way to do that," said Jim Geffre, Orion spacecraft integration manager. "It just so happened that with that really large orbit, high altitude above the moon, we were able to pass the Apollo 13 record. But what was more important though, was pushing the boundaries of exploration and sending spacecraft farther than we had ever done before."

NASA's Orion spacecraft arrived at the moon yesterday after travelling some 230,000 miles (370,000km) in five days. The capsule zoomed over the landing sites of Apollo 11, 12 and 14 as it came within 80 miles (130km) of the lunar surface. But now it is circling the moon, what exactly will it be doing for the next 10 days before it heads home? As you'd expect there are a multitude of science experiments NASA is carrying out, including checking radiation levels, seeing how'space seeds' behave and monitoring a dummy called Commander Moonikin to see how he is coping with the journey. Artemis I will not only fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans - around 40,000 miles (64,000km) beyond the far side of the moon - it will also stay in space the longest without docking to a space station, and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

NASA's Artemis 1 test flight dummy will have company on its flight to the Moon. On Tuesday, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that Shaun the Sheep will join the unmanned mission when it hopefully takes off later this year. With the announcement, Aardman's beloved character will technically become the first ESA astronaut to participate in the Artemis program. "This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA," ESA Director for Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker said. "We're woolly very happy that he's been selected for the mission and we understand that, although it might be a small step for a human, it's a giant leap for lambkind."

NASA's next generation lunar backpack could give astronauts the ability to create a 3D map of the surface of the moon, as they walk across the regolith. The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) is a mobile lidar scanner, worn as a backpack that uses light and lasers to measure range. NASA researchers and industry partners developed the device that can not only aid astronauts in the airless wastelands of the Lunar South Pole, but also on the Earth. One suggested use is for a mountaineering expedition in an unchartered environment. The hikers can create a real-time map for others in the party, as well as other hikers that might come after them - all from a simple backpack.

Amazon have teamed up with Cisco and Lockheed Martin to develop an artificial intelligence system -- dubbed'Callisto' -- for NASA's Artemis I lunar mission. Callisto will combine into one interface the voice control technology of Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant with Cisco's Webex video conferencing system. Lockheed Martin engineers, meanwhile, will be leading the development of the custom-built system and its integration into their Orion space capsule design. Unlike Alexa, Callisto will contain technology and software that allows it to respond to commands in-flight without reliance on an internet connection. The video conferencing system, in contrast, will require a communications system to function -- and will operate via NASA's Deep Space Network.

Vice President Kamala Harris' Office released a new framework for US space policy on Wednesday, showing how the Biden Administration plans approach to civil, commercial and national security-related use of space amid growing commercial interests and concerns about Chinese and Russian competition. The seven-page document, titled the'United States Space Priorities Framework,' includes many of the same space priorities from the Trump administration, such as the Artemis program, but cites using space to fight climate change and the importance of investing in STEM education. Harris, set to convene the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council at 1:30pm ET, plans to ask members of the government body'to accelerate, expand, and develop rules and norms for responsible behavior in space,' the White House said. 'We are on the cusp of historic changes in access to and use of space - changes that have the potential to bring the benefits of space to more people and communities than ever before,' the administration said in a report outlining its space priorities. Vice President Kamala Harris' Office released a new framework for US space policy on Wednesday, showing how the Biden Administration plans approach to civil, commercial and national security-related use of space amid growing commercial interests and concerns about Chinese and Russian competition This will mark the first meeting of the National Space Council during the Biden Administration.