Artemis
Artemis III: no earlier than June 2027 • NASA: NASA Shares Artemis Acceleration Plans for Moon Missions • Last mission: Artemis II, Launch Successful • Artemis IV: first crewed Moon landing since Apollo, planned for 2028
Artemis TrackerNext Mission
To Be Determined

Next Artemis missionArtemis III

Not a Moon landing. Four astronauts will stay in Earth orbit for about 14 days and practise docking with test versions of both commercial Moon landers, ready for the landing planned on Artemis IV.

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No earlier than June 2027Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USANASA says 2027, and officials described it as mid-2027 at the 23 October briefing. Administrator Jared Isaacman told staff in September that the schedule was about 90 days behind.
Artemis III
Missions flown
2
Astronauts flown
4
Farthest from Earth
406,771 km
Since last mission
219 days
Next mission
June 2027

How Artemis III will fly

NASA's plan, about 14 days
  1. 1

    Blue Moon launches first

    Blue Origin puts a test Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into orbit about 440 km up. It can wait there for up to 30 days.

  2. 2

    SLS launches the crew

    Orion lifts off from Kennedy Space Center days later, once the lander is confirmed healthy.

  3. 3

    Checks on the way

    For the first two days the crew checks Orion's systems and moves towards Blue Moon.

  4. 4

    Dock with Blue Moon

    The crew spends about two days docked, opening the hatch and going inside to assess the cabin, controls and life support. Reported as around day 3.

  5. 5

    Starship launches from Florida

    SpaceX launches a Version 3 test Starship after Orion undocks from Blue Moon. Reported as around day 6.

  6. 6

    Dock with Starship

    Up to two hours, and nobody goes aboard. It tests control, communications, software and docking at Starship's nose, compared with Blue Moon's side port.

  7. 7

    Up to five more days in orbit

    Spacesuit checks, docking sensor tests, health studies and trials for handling future Moon samples.

  8. 8

    Splashdown

    In the Pacific off California, with recovery by NASA and the US Navy.

Building Artemis III

6 of 9 done, as reported by NASA in 2026
  1. Final booster segments shipped to Kennedy by train (done)2 Jun
  2. Booster stacking began in the Vehicle Assembly Building (done)Jul
  3. Orion crew and service modules joined (done)30 Jul
  4. RS-25 engine installation began, with all four fitted by mid-October (done)24 Aug
  5. Booster stacking finished (done)30 Sep
  6. Core stage joined to the boosters (done)28 Oct
  7. Roll the partly built rocket to Pad 39B for a fuelling test, with a crew launch-day rehearsalNext up (not done yet)Coming months
  8. Spacer and adapters ship to Kennedy (not done yet)Early 2027
  9. Blue Moon test article launches (not done yet)2027

Artemis III crew

announced 9 June 2026

  • Randy Bresnik

    Commander · NASA

    Retired US Marine Corps test pilot. Flew on STS-129 and commanded the International Space Station on Expedition 53.

  • Luca Parmitano

    Pilot · ESA

    Italian test pilot. Flew two long Space Station missions and commanded Expedition 61.

  • Frank Rubio

    Mission specialist · NASA

    Army helicopter pilot and flight surgeon. Holds the US record for the longest single spaceflight, at 371 days.

  • Andre Douglas

    Mission specialist · NASA

    First spaceflight. An engineer who worked at Johns Hopkins APL, and a backup crew member for Artemis II.

  • Backup: Robert Hines

The two landers

as of 6 November 2026

  • Blue Moon Mark 2 test article

    Blue Origin

    Docked to Orion
    About 2 days
    Crew goes aboard
    Yes
    Launch listed for
    Q1 2027

  • Starship V3 test article

    SpaceX

    Docked to Orion
    Up to 2 hours
    Crew goes aboard
    No
    Launch listed for
    June 2027
Main risks: Blue Origin has to return New Glenn to flight after an explosion on the pad, and Blue Moon launches first. NASA's safety panel has raised concerns about lander readiness, and neither lander has flown with a crew.

Sources:NASA: the Artemis III plan ↗NASA: Artemis update, 4 Nov ↗SpacePolicyOnline, 23 Oct ↗

The Artemis missions

  1. Artemis I

    Uncrewed test flight around the Moon

    Launch Successful

    First flight of SLS and Orion, without a crew. Orion travelled to the Moon and back in about 25 days. Its heat shield eroded more than expected during re-entry.

    Launched
    16 Nov 2022
    Splashdown
    11 Dec 2022
    Crew
    None
    Full details →

  2. Artemis II

    First crew around the Moon since 1972

    Launch Successful

    First crewed flight of SLS and Orion, and the first people beyond low Earth orbit since 1972. The crew flew around the Moon and set a new record for distance from Earth, passing Apollo 13.

    Crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen

    Launched
    1 Apr 2026
    Splashdown
    11 Apr 2026 UTC
    Farthest from Earth
    406,771 km
    Closest to the Moon
    6,545 km
    Full details →

  3. Artemis III

    Crew docks with both landers in Earth orbit

    To Be Determined

    No earlier than June 2027

    Full details →

  4. Artemis IV

    First crewed Moon landing since Apollo 17

    To Be Determined

    No earlier than First half of 2028

    Full details →

  5. Artemis V

    Second crewed landing

    To Be Determined

    No earlier than Second half of 2028

    Full details →

From NASA

Latest Artemis news

Launch Site

Launch Complex 39B · 28.6271°N 80.6210°W

Space Launch System Block 1 and Orion

Height
98 m
Liftoff thrust
39 MN
Payload to low Earth orbit
95 t
Launch site
Pad 39B
Kennedy Space Center
Crew capsule
Orion
with a European Service Module
Upper stage
None
a spacer replaces it on Artemis III
Solid boosters
2
over 75% of liftoff thrust
Core stage engines
4
RS-25