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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 trajectory

Active · 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
Moon
Launch vehicle
Delta II 7925
Launch site
Cape Canaveral, United States
Countries
United States
Mission types
Orbiter, Heliophysics

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    The five THEMIS spacecraft launched together on a Delta II 7925

  2. 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.

    Moon

  3. Milestone

    ARTEMIS-P1 reached the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point

    Moon

  4. Milestone

    ARTEMIS-P2 reached the Earth-Moon L1 Lagrange point

    Moon

  5. Orbit 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

  • ARTEMIS-P1 · Orbiter

    Destinations: Moon

  • ARTEMIS-P2 · Orbiter

    Destinations: Moon

Trajectory record

Trajectory dataset not yet available

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through August 27, 2026