NASA has named the four-person crew for the Artemis III: Instead of the originally planned first manned moon landing since Apollo 17, this space mission will be a two-week test mission in low Earth orbit (LEO). At the end of 2027, the Orion spacecraft is scheduled to test rendezvous and docking maneuvers with test versions of the lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX for the first time. The first actual landing at the lunar south pole is postponed to Artemis IV, probably in 2028. NASA announced in February 2026 that the moon landing would be postponed to Artemis IV and that two missions could be launched in 2028.
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Artemis III was originally intended to drop two astronauts near the lunar south pole, with an unmanned SpaceX Starship HLS waiting in lunar orbit. After Artemis II’s successful orbit of the moon, NASA describes the new procedure as a step to reduce risk. In a more controlled environment in Earth orbit, approach, docking, hatch operations, and software and communications integration between Orion and the landers can be tested in real-world conditions before the full mission complexity of deep space radiation, communications delay, and reentry at lunar return speed is added.
For the first time, Luca Parmitano, an astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA), is part of the Artemis crew. He acts as a pilot; The commander is Randy Bresnik (NASA), and Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio (both NASA) are flying as mission specialists. Bob Hines is available as a substitute. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher emphasizes that Parmitano’s role reflects the depth of European expertise in human spaceflight. ESA is also supplying the European Service Module (ESM) for Orion, which provides power, propulsion and life support.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlights the “most impressive coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history.” This is exactly where one of the central technical challenges lies: The architecture requires a closely timed series of launches – the Space Launch System (SLS) with Orion plus at least one, ideally two, large lander test vehicles. All spacecraft must be in compatible orbits within a few days, making the geometry vulnerable to weather and technical delays.
Two landers, one test flight
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Blue Origin and SpaceX take on different tasks in the test mission. Both companies provide LEO-capable test articles (pathfinders) of their HLS systems (Human Landing System), including functional docking ports and avionics interfaces to Orion. Automated rendezvous navigation, telemetry and docking capability will be demonstrated; The crew wants to open the hatch on at least one lander and go through interior procedures for later surface missions. The aim is to test both systems in one flight if possible.
From the perspective of systems engineers, the architectures differ significantly. Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 is designed as a more classic lander with a moderate mass regime and a focus on precision landing, complemented by separate cargo missions. SpaceX’s Starship HLS, on the other hand, is a fully reusable large vehicle with enormous payload capacity that requires a complex refueling chain with multiple tankers in Earth orbit – an approach with high risk but also high potential for the eventual establishment of a permanent lunar presence. In the HLS documents, NASA lists SpaceX as the provider for Artemis III as well as an additional manned landing demonstration for Artemis IV, while Blue Origin is carrying out the first manned demonstration landing for its own system with its Blue Moon lander from Artemis V onwards.
The shift into Earth orbit is itself part of the redundancy concept: in the event of problems, a relatively quick return is possible, the communication channels are more stable and rescue scenarios are more manageable. There is also a step-by-step test strategy with extensive ground tests and unmanned preliminary flights. The unmanned Blue Moon lander Mark 1 called “Endurance” has already passed thermal vacuum tests and is being tested for its communication systems in Florida, as heise reported in Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander passing important NASA tests.
Hardware is taking shape
At the same time, the necessary infrastructure is being prepared. In the summer, engineers will connect the Orion crew module to the service module and integrate the docking system for the first time; the heat shield blocks undergo ultrasonic inspection and are assembled. With the SLS core, the engine section is connected to the rest of the stage, with four RS-25 engines to follow. All solid booster segments have already arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, and stacking on the Mobile Launcher is also scheduled to begin in the summer. Artemis III thus forms the link between the comparatively simple lunar orbit by Artemis II and the demanding landing missions Artemis IV and V, which are intended to prepare the construction of a lunar base.
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