These missions seek to reestablish a human presence on the Moon and demonstrate technologies and business approaches needed for future scientific studies, including exploration of Mars.

The first two launch attempts were canceled due to a faulty engine temperature reading on August 29, 2022, and a hydrogen leak during fueling on September 3, 2022.

[17] The Orion spacecraft then returned and reentered the Earth's atmosphere with the protection of its heat shield, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.

[23] Once in orbit, the ICPS fired its engine to perform a trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn, which placed the Orion spacecraft and 10 CubeSats on a trajectory to the Moon.

Following Orion separation, the ICPS Stage Adapter deployed ten CubeSats for conducting scientific research and performing technology demonstrations.

[24] The Orion spacecraft spent approximately three weeks in space, including six days in a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) around the Moon.

[33] In January 2015, NASA and Lockheed Martin announced that the primary structure in the Orion spacecraft used on Artemis I would be up to 25% lighter compared to the previous one (EFT-1).

[36] However, after a months-long feasibility study, NASA rejected the proposal, citing cost as the primary issue, and continued with the plan to fly the first SLS mission uncrewed.

[43] The core stage for Artemis I, built at Michoud Assembly Facility by Boeing, had all four engines attached in November 2019[44] and was declared finished one month later.

[57] The SLS core stage for the mission, CS-1, arrived at the launch site on the Pegasus barge on April 27, 2021, after the successful conclusion of Green Run tests.

The Artemis I Orion spacecraft began fueling and pre-launch servicing in the Multi-Payload Processing Facility on January 16, 2021, following a handover to NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS).

[62] During a period of extensive integrated testing and checkouts, one of the four RS-25 engine controllers failed, requiring a replacement and delaying the first rollout of the rocket.

[63][64] On March 17, 2022, Artemis I rolled out of High Bay 3 from the Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time to perform a pre-launch wet dress rehearsal (WDR).

[65] A second attempt to complete the test was scrubbed on April 4, after problems with supplying gaseous nitrogen to the launch complex, liquid oxygen temperatures, and a vent valve stuck in a closed position.

However, during the loading of liquid hydrogen on the core stage, a leak was discovered on the tail service mast umbilical plate, located on the mobile launcher at the base of the rocket, forcing another early end to the test.

[69][70] NASA rolled the vehicle back to the VAB to repair the hydrogen leak and the ICPS helium check valve while upgrading the nitrogen supply at LC-39B after prolonged outages on the three previous wet dress rehearsals.

[83] An investigation revealed that a sensor not used to determine launch readiness was faulty, and displayed an erroneously high temperature for Engine 3.

[85] The launch was scrubbed at 11:17 am EDT due to a fuel supply line leak in a service arm connecting to the engine section.

[99][100][101] On November 15, the mission management team gave a "go" to begin fully preparing for launch, and the main tanking procedures began at 3:30 pm EST (20:30 UTC).

[107] On November 21, Orion experienced a planned loss of communication with NASA from 12:25 through 12:59 UTC as it passed behind the moon and no longer had line-of-sight to Earth.

[124] The Orion spacecraft carried three astronaut-like mannequins equipped with sensors to provide data on what crew members may experience during a trip to the Moon.

[125] The first mannequin, called "Captain Moonikin Campos" (named after Arturo Campos, a NASA engineer during the Apollo program),[126] occupied the commander's seat inside Orion and was equipped with two radiation sensors in its Orion Crew Survival System suit, which astronauts will wear during launch, entry, and other dynamic phases of their missions.

[127] Alongside Moonikin were two phantom torsos, "Helga" and "Zohar" (named by the German Aerospace Center and the Israel Space Agency respectively[128]), who took part in the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), in which NASA, together with the German Aerospace Center and the Israel Space Agency, measured the radiation exposure during the mission.

The phantoms measured the radiation exposure of body location, with both passive and active dosimeters distributed at sensitive and high stem cell-concentration tissues.

[130] In addition to the three mannequins, Orion carried a plush doll of NASA's Snoopy as zero-g indicator[131] and a Shaun the Sheep toy[132] representing the ESA's European Service Module contribution to the mission.

Besides these functional payloads, Artemis I also carried commemorative stickers, patches, seeds, and flags from contractors and space agencies worldwide.

[133] A technology demonstration called Callisto, named after the mythical figure associated with Artemis, developed by Lockheed Martin in collaboration with Amazon and Cisco, was also aboard.

[143] The Artemis I mission patch was created by NASA designers of the SLS, Orion spacecraft and Exploration Ground Systems teams.

The red and blue mission trajectories encompassing the white full Moon represent Americans and people in the European Space Agency who work on Artemis I.

[154][155] Also aboard the capsule is a digital copy of the 14,000 entries for the Moon Pod Essay Contest hosted by Future Engineers for NASA.