Artemis III — docking test in Earth orbit (landing moves to IV)
On Artemis III, four astronauts in Orion are to dock in low Earth orbit with lunar-lander test vehicles from Blue Origin and SpaceX (Starship). Launch is planned for no earlier than June 2027; the first crewed landing has moved to Artemis IV, planned for early 2028.
The story
Artemis III was originally meant to put people on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. On 27 February 2026, however, NASA changed the plan. Artemis III will not go to the Moon. Instead it will rehearse a key procedure with a crew aboard, in an orbit close to Earth. Launch is planned for no earlier than June 2027, and the landing itself passes to Artemis IV, planned for early 2028.
Under the new plan four astronauts ride the Orion spacecraft into Earth orbit. There they dock, one after the other, with test vehicles built by the two companies making lunar landers. Docking means two spacecraft meeting in space, lining up their hatches and locking firmly together. Orion is to stay attached to the Blue Origin vehicle for about two days and to SpaceX's Starship for about one day.
The Starship used on this flight carries a docking mechanism but has no equipment to keep people alive inside. So even while docked to Starship the crew stay in Orion. While joined to the Blue Origin vehicle they test its systems and the connections for spacesuits. On a real landing mission astronauts must move from Orion into the lander, so this is preparation for that step.
The crew are commander Randy Bresnik of NASA, pilot Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas of NASA. The date is still a plan and depends on both companies having their test vehicles ready in time. The early-2028 landing on Artemis IV is not fixed either.
Mission goals
The newest part of a Moon landing happens in orbit, not on the surface. Orion has never docked with either company's lander. Doing that for the first time close to Earth rather than near the Moon leaves more time to deal with problems, and the crew could be home within hours if needed. Removing one unknown from the first landing flight is the main reason for the change.
Testing both companies' vehicles on one flight also matters. NASA picked SpaceX's Starship in 2021 and Blue Origin's lander in 2023, creating two separate routes to the surface so that a problem with one need not stop the programme. The Starship lander must be refuelled in Earth orbit by other Starships before it can leave for the Moon, and the Artemis III docking is one piece of that long preparation.
The final destination, the Moon's south pole, has not changed. The floors of craters that never see sunlight may hold water frozen as ice. That ice could be turned into drinking water, oxygen to breathe and rocket fuel, which makes it an important resource for staying on the Moon for long periods.
Mission chronology and background
Between 1969 and 1972 Apollo spacecraft landed on the Moon six times, and twelve people walked on its surface. All the landing sites were near the Moon's equator, and even the longest stay, by the Apollo 17 crew, lasted only a little over three days. Nobody has been back for more than fifty years.
Artemis I sent an uncrewed Orion around the Moon and back in 2022. Artemis II flew the same route with four astronauts in April 2026. It reached 406,771 km from Earth, beating the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 and becoming the farthest humans have ever travelled from Earth.
The February 2026 change set a new order. Artemis III is the docking test in Earth orbit, no earlier than June 2027, and Artemis IV is to be the first crewed Moon landing in more than half a century, planned for early 2028. Landing near the south pole, staying longer on the surface and finding out whether the ice can really be used all pass to Artemis IV and the missions after it.
Other milestones of this mission
Where to see it — sky and simulator
This mission is not an event to wait for in the night sky. A spacecraft in low Earth orbit can cross a dawn or evening sky as a moving point, like any satellite, but until the orbit and schedule are fixed there is no way to know when or where. The practical way to follow it is NASA's live broadcast. The moments to watch are the two dockings, as Orion closes in on each test vehicle and latches on.
For a view of the Earth and Moon together, use the orbit view on the Artemis II page. It replays the April 2026 flight that carried four astronauts around the far side of the Moon and back. Artemis III, by contrast, stays so close to Earth that at the same scale it would look like a dot pressed against the planet.
FAQ
Does Artemis III go to the Moon?
No. Since the change of plan in February 2026 it is a crewed test flight in low Earth orbit, where Orion docks with lunar-lander test vehicles.
When will it launch?
No earlier than June 2027. It could slip, depending on when both companies' test vehicles are ready.
So when is the first crewed landing?
It has moved to Artemis IV, planned for early 2028. If all goes to plan it will be the first since Apollo 17 in 1972.
What does Starship do on Artemis III?
A test vehicle fitted only with a docking mechanism stays joined to Orion for about a day. It has no life support, so the crew remain in Orion. The Starship lander continues development for later landing missions.
Related
- Artemis II — crewed flight around the Moon
- Starship test flights — the lander's prerequisite
- Apollo 11 — the first footprints
- The Moon — object index
- Earth — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.