NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman informed lawmakers on Monday that SpaceX and Blue Origin—NASA’s two lunar lander contractors—estimate their spacecraft could be ready for the next Artemis mission in Earth orbit by late 2027. This timeline is later than NASA’s previously announced schedule.
The mission in question, Artemis III, will not proceed directly to the Moon. Instead, NASA plans to launch an Orion capsule carrying a crew of astronauts to rendezvous and potentially dock with one or both lunar landers while still in Earth orbit. Key details of the flight plan, including the orbit’s altitude and the configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, remain under review.
Key Considerations for Artemis III Mission Planning
- A mission to low-Earth orbit—a few hundred miles in altitude—may allow NASA to preserve an existing SLS upper stage currently in storage. This stage could then be used for the subsequent Artemis mission aimed at a Moon landing.
- If the mission targets a higher orbit, NASA would need to use the stored upper stage. However, a higher orbit would provide an environment more similar to lunar conditions, enabling critical testing.
- To support future SLS missions, NASA has procured a new commercial upper stage, the Centaur V from United Launch Alliance (ULA), which will pair with the SLS rocket after the existing upper stages are deployed.
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