Congratulations to the Artemis II crew – but the case for sending astronauts into space is rapidly shrinking

The Artemis II crew – from left, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman – inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home, 8 April 2026. Photograph: Nasa/UPI/Shutterstock

The 2020s has seen a revival of the “Apollo spirit”. The US and China are seemingly in a race to send humans to the moon by the end of the decade – and thereafter, perhaps, even to Mars. Nasa astronauts have just returned from a 10-day journey looping around the moon. Although they arrived back safely, Nasa accepts that the lack of data makes it impossible to quantify the risks involved – this represents only the second launch for the Artemis system and the first to carry astronauts.

To date, estimated expenditures on the Artemis programme are close to $100bn (£75bn). The “one big beautiful bill” that the US Congress passed in July 2025 allocates $9.9bn for the Artemis IV and V missions. Still greater expenditures are envisioned for a well-developed lunar base.