Why was Artemis not the designation for the original 1960s Moon landing program?
Answer
Artemis was not yet established as the designation for a human lunar return program.
The fundamental chronological reason Apollo was selected for the mission to land humans on the Moon in the early 1960s is timing. The Artemis program was conceived decades later, after the Space Shuttle era concluded, as NASA began planning its subsequent return to the lunar surface. When the original Moon mission required a name, Artemis had not been established or conceived as the designation for that contemporary effort. Apollo was chosen because it fit the immediate ambition and the established mythological theme at that specific historical juncture.
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