NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and agency leaders shared updated plans on Oct. 23 to accelerate the Artemis program, advancing toward an Artemis III test flight in 2027 and an Artemis IV Moon landing mission in 2028.
Artemis III Test Flight
NASA detailed plans for the Artemis III mission, which will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit aboard an Orion spacecraft launched on an SLS rocket. The 14-day mission will test rendezvous, docking, and operations with lunar lander test vehicles from SpaceX and Blue Origin in Earth orbit.
The mission will unfold in sequence with launches involving a Blue Moon lander test article, Orion and its crew, and a Version 3 Starship lander test article. Orion will dock with Blue Moon and then undock to dock with Starship.
Artemis IV Lunar Landers
For the 2028 Artemis IV mission, astronauts will launch aboard Orion on the SLS rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing lunar landers with redesigned approaches to carry astronauts to the Moon's surface.
NASA is pursuing two upper-stage options for the SLS rocket: its current interim cryogenic propulsion stage and a stretched version of ULA's Centaur V. Both companies are targeting a crewed lunar landing in 2028.
Hardware and Spacesuits
NASA stated that hardware for Artemis III is on track, with processing timelines reduced by about half. The agency also redesigned, built, and tested a critical fuel-line component in-house in five months at roughly a tenth of the cost of an earlier outside-vendor estimate.
Additionally, NASA announced plans with spacesuit provider Axiom Space to develop a lighter suit design called the Sortie suit to enable the first moonwalks. The Sortie suit is roughly half the weight of the larger suit.
Key facts and where they come from
- NASA is advancing toward the Artemis III test flight in 2027 and Artemis IV Moon landing in 2028.
advancing toward the agency’s Artemis III test flight in 2027 and Artemis IV Moon landing mission in 2028.
- The Artemis III mission will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit.
The mission will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit next year to test critical systems needed for future lunar landings.
- NASA redesigned a fuel-line component in-house in five months.
NASA also redesigned, built, and tested a critical fuel-line component in-house in five months, at roughly a tenth of the cost of an earlier outside-vendor estimate.
