Artemis III crewed low Earth orbit demonstration (planned)
Planned mission in which Orion and four crew rendezvous and dock in low Earth orbit with test articles of the SpaceX Starship HLS and/or Blue Origin Blue Moon MK2 landers, entering the landers and checking out interfaces and suits. A programme target, not a forecast; the date and content have already changed once.
Planned — a programme target or declared plan, from a source that declared it. Never a prediction.
Subjects
- Artemis III · mission · not located
- Orion (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle) · spacecraft · not located
- Space Launch System (SLS) · launch vehicle · not located
Evidence
Verified — Every field is supported by a cited authoritative source.
NASA Artemis restructuring and preliminary Artemis III mission plans
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced on 27 February 2026 that Artemis III will no longer attempt a lunar landing but will fly a crewed rendezvous and docking demonstration in low Earth orbit with SpaceX and Blue Origin Human Landing System test articles, targeted for 2027, and that the first crewed lunar landing moves to Artemis IV no earlier than 2028.
NASA · 2026-02-27 · Verified
NASA press conference, 27 February 2026, and NASA release 'NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans'
Recorded on Artemis III
- Artemis I launches uncrewed from Launch Complex 39B
- Artemis I splashes down after 25 days
- NASA concludes the Orion heat shield investigation
- NASA restructures Artemis: Artemis III re-scoped, landing moves to Artemis IV
- Artemis II launches — first crew beyond low Earth orbit since 1972
- Artemis II splashes down off San Diego
- NASA names the Artemis III crew
- Artemis III crewed low Earth orbit demonstration (planned)
- Artemis IV first crewed lunar south pole landing (planned)
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- NASA names the Artemis III crew · 2026-06-09
- Artemis II splashes down off San Diego · 2026-04-10 20:07 EDT
- Artemis II launches — first crew beyond low Earth orbit since 1972 · 2026-04-01 22:35 UTC
- NASA restructures Artemis: Artemis III re-scoped, landing moves to Artemis IV · 2026-02-27
- NASA concludes the Orion heat shield investigation · 2024-12-05
- Artemis IV first crewed lunar south pole landing (planned) · planned — no earlier than 2028
- Artemis I splashes down after 25 days · 2022-12-11
- Artemis I launches uncrewed from Launch Complex 39B · 2022-11-16 11:47 UTC