NASA says it is targeting a 2027 Artemis III test flight in Earth orbit and a crewed Artemis IV Moon landing in 2028, with astronauts launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the latter mission.
Rather than landing on Artemis III, NASA plans to use the mission to test rendezvous, docking and operations between the Orion spacecraft and lunar lander test vehicles from SpaceX and Blue Origin. Four astronauts would launch aboard Orion on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for a planned 14-day mission in Earth orbit.
NASA outlined a sequence in which Blue Origin launches a Blue Moon lander test article, Orion launches and docks with it, and SpaceX then launches a Version 3 Starship lander test article. Orion would undock from Blue Moon and dock with Starship.
For Artemis IV, NASA is working with both SpaceX and Blue Origin on lunar landers. NASA said SpaceX plans to refuel Starship in Earth orbit before it rendezvous with Orion and heads toward the Moon. Blue Origin’s plan uses transfer stages in Earth orbit to send its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander toward the Moon, where it would meet Orion in a closer lunar orbit before descending.
Both companies are targeting the ability to support a crewed lunar landing in 2028, according to NASA. The agency also said it is retaining two possible upper-stage options for the SLS rocket: the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and a stretched version of ULA’s Centaur V.
NASA is also developing a second Axiom Space spacesuit called the Sortie suit for the earliest moonwalks. The agency said the lighter suit will not replace Axiom’s primary suit, which is intended for longer and more demanding future missions.
The agency said Artemis missions will ultimately send astronauts to increasingly difficult sites around the lunar South Pole as NASA works toward a sustained human presence on the Moon.
