NASA Shares New Details on Artemis III Pre-Lunar Landing Mission

Astronauts enter a moon vehicle while in Earth orbit.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule sit atop a mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in March 2026. [Credit: NASA/Jim Ross]

Key Takeaways:

Artemis III has been re-designated as an Earth-orbital test mission (not lunar) focused on demonstrating Orion's rendezvous and docking capabilities with commercial Human Landing Systems (HLS) before the crewed lunar landing on Artemis IV in 2028.
NASA plans for both SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 HLS to participate in this mission, testing Orion's integration and interaction with hardware from both commercial providers.
The mission will use a simplified Space Launch System (SLS) without an upper stage and faces challenges including potential delays from HLS providers, the absence of a propellant transfer demonstration, and the fact that an upgraded Orion heat shield won't be fully tested for lunar return conditions until Artemis IV.

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Following the roaring success of NASA’s Artemis II mission, the space agency is devising plans for a final test flight before attempting to land the first humans on the moon in decades, as soon as 2028.

Whereas Artemis II sent four astronauts slingshotting around the moon and back—and farther from Earth than any human has ever ventured—Artemis III will stay in familiar Earth orbit. The mission is designed as a test of NASA’s Orion capsule’s ability to dock with the human landing system (HLS) that will deliver its crew to the lunar surface.