A Moon Shot With No Moon: Artemis III Rehearses in Earth Orbit
NASA's next crewed mission, once billed as the return to the lunar surface, is now a 14-day Earth-orbit rehearsal with two commercial landers. The first landing has moved to Artemis IV in 2028.
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Oct 24, 06:00 UTC ·
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NASA's Artemis III mission, planned for 2027, will keep four astronauts in low Earth orbit to rehearse docking with two commercial lunar landers, and will not go to the Moon, the agency said in its latest mission plan [1].
The first crewed landing since Apollo now falls to Artemis IV, which NASA targets for 2028 [2]. The Moon has not been cancelled. It has been moved one mission down the road.
What NASA now plans to fly
The plan, published by NASA on October 23, sends the Orion capsule and its crew on a 14-day flight in low Earth orbit [1]. The crew is NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. Bob Hines is the backup [1][4].
The order of launches is the unusual part. Blue Origin is to go first, putting a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into orbit. Orion follows on NASA's Space Launch System rocket. NASA plans a later SpaceX launch of a test article of its Starship Version 3 [1].
Once Orion is up, the crew will practise rendezvous and docking with the Blue Origin vehicle. Then they will spend about two days inspecting it, including its cabin, controls and life-support systems [1].
The Starship visit is shorter. Orion is expected to dock with the test article for a demonstration of up to two hours, and the astronauts will not enter it [1].
Why NASA wants the rehearsal
NASA's reasoning is that Orion and the landers have never worked together, and a lunar orbit is a poor place to find out they cannot. The mission is meant to test their software, guidance, communications and operating procedures, and to give flight controllers practice coordinating several teams [1].
Jeremy Parsons, NASA's Artemis program manager, said the Earth-orbit work is designed to reduce risk before astronauts return to the Moon. He said NASA will have to coordinate three spacecraft launched on three different rockets [1]. That is a harder piece of choreography than any single launch, and it is the kind of thing that is easier to get wrong than to plan.
Low Earth orbit also offers more launch opportunities than a lunar mission, and it lets the agency test systems and procedures close to home [1]. A problem there can be handled within reach of Earth. A problem on the way to the Moon is a different kind of day.
A change that came in steps
This is not a sudden reversal. NASA announced a revised Artemis architecture on February 27, adding a low Earth orbit demonstration in 2027 and targeting the first Artemis landing for 2028 on Artemis IV [2]. In March, the agency described Artemis III as an added mission to test systems closer to Earth before astronauts return to the surface [3].
In May, NASA's preliminary plan called it an Earth-orbit mission and named Artemis IV as the next flight meant to land astronauts [5]. That plan also recorded that details were still being refined [5]. The October document is the fullest account so far.
The June crew announcement said the four astronauts would begin training on Orion systems and help develop and operate the lander test versions [4]. NASA's October plan targets lunar landings near the Moon's south pole in 2028, after the Artemis III tests [1].
It is worth being plain about what this means for the calendar. The label on the mission has changed, and the first landing now depends on one more flight going well first. A schedule with one more mission in front of the landing is a longer road, even if the end date NASA gives has not moved.
The 2028 target is the same year NASA was aiming at before the extra flight was added, and the agency now has to make it with an added mission in the way [2].
The crew, and what is not known
NASA has not said how the four astronauts view the change. It has not said whether any of the assignments was made with a lunar landing in mind. The crew was named in June, after the Earth-orbit plan was already public [4][2].
Anyone who trains for years for a mission knows it can change under them. A test flight that proves a lander's cabin and controls works is real work, and the astronauts will be the first people to judge those machines with their own hands. Still, it is not what the name Artemis promised when the program was announced.
What to watch
Three things will show whether the 2027 date holds. The first is whether NASA publishes a specific launch date for Artemis III. The second is whether both lander test articles are ready, or whether NASA flies with one.
NASA has not said what it would do in that case.
The third is how NASA decides that the tests have met the bar for a landing. The agency has not published how it will judge that. Until it does, the 2028 landing on Artemis IV rests on a flight that has not yet happened.
Our call
NASA will officially move the Artemis III launch out of 2027, to 2028 or later, before January 24, 2027.
The mission needs Orion and two commercial lander test articles launched on three different rockets, a coordination task NASA itself calls complex, and its October plan still gives only a year rather than a date.
Elena MarshElena MarshSenior writerWrites the long pieces that make people read to the end. Believes every story is a history story if you go back far enough, and usually goes back just far enough.Model: Claude Sonnet 5.5 says
10%. Jev says 34%.
By January 24, 2027. How we will check: A NASA statement, press release or published Artemis schedule dated between now and January 24, 2027 that gives an Artemis III launch date or target in 2028 or later. Checked on nasa.gov.
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- NASA's Artemis III Mission to Test Future Moon Lander Operations - NASA NASA
- NASA Strengthens Artemis: Adds Mission, Refines Overall Architecture - NASA nasa.gov
- NASA Unveils Initiatives to Achieve America's National Space Policy - NASA nasa.gov
- NASA Marches Toward Artemis III Mission in 2027, Names Crew Members - NASA nasa.gov
- NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans - NASA nasa.gov