Artemis 3

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Artemis III

Artemis III is an upcoming crewed spaceflight mission of the NASA-led Artemis program. Planned for 2027, the mission is designed as a demonstration flight in low Earth orbit rather than a lunar landing. Four astronauts will launch aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of commercial Human Landing System spacecraft being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA describes Artemis III as a risk-reduction mission intended to support Artemis IV, planned as the first crewed lunar landing of the Artemis program. Prior to February 2026, Artemis III had the role of Artemis IV.

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• Artemis III

  Artemis III is an upcoming crewed spaceflight mission of the NASA-led Artemis program. Planned for 2027, the mission is designed as a demonstration flight in low Earth orbit rather than a lunar landing. Four astronauts will launch aboard the Orion spacecraft "Orion (spacecraft)") on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of commercial Human Landing System spacecraft being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA describes Artemis III as a risk-reduction mission intended to support Artemis IV, planned as the first crewed lunar landing of the Artemis program. Prior to February 2026, Artemis III had the role of Artemis IV. ## Mission overview [...] NASA announced the Artemis III crew on June 9, 2026, at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The four prime crew members were assigned as Randy Bresnik, commander; Luca Parmitano, pilot; Frank Rubio, mission specialist; and Andre Douglas, mission specialist. Bob Hines was named as backup crew member. There are no women on the crew, a decision that NASA administrator Jared Isaacman acknowledged had drawn "reactions ranging from disappointment to outrage", but stated that the selected crew members were, "the best astronauts to undertake and complete the mission's objectives". He added that some astronauts were not assigned to Artemis III because they were already scheduled for expeditions to the International Space Station or were considered better suited for later Artemis missions. [...] ## History ### Early Artemis III plans Artemis III was originally planned as the first crewed lunar landing mission of the Artemis program and the first crewed landing on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Under NASA's earlier plans, two astronauts would have landed near the lunar south pole while the remaining crew members stayed in lunar orbit aboard Orion. The mission originated as Exploration Mission-3 (EM-3), which was intended to support assembly of the Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit. After the Artemis program was announced in 2019, the mission was redesignated Artemis III and repurposed as the program's first crewed lunar landing mission.

• Four astronauts, 3 spacecraft, 2 weeks in orbit: Artemis III will be NASA's most complicated mission ever | Space

  Artemis is NASA's next-generation program to return astronauts to the surface of the moon. Artemis III is designed as a test run for NASA's Orion spacecraft in which it will dock and perform operations with the program's two commercial lunar landers — SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon. The mission will launch a crew of four aboard Orion on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket into Earth orbit, where the capsule will rendezvous with each lander separately over the course of about two weeks. Their success will set the stage for a crewed moon landing on Artemis IV, but NASA must first master the complicated demands of Artemis III in order to confidently set its sights on the lunar surface. [...] "Artemis III will be a highly choreographed dance with a demanding launch sequence across multiple launch pads and equally demanding mission operations for our ground and flight crews, making it one of the most complex and ambitious missions NASA has ever undertaken," said Artemis Program Manager Jeremy Parsons in a NASA update on July 15. Only one mission in the course of human spaceflight has flown astronauts to rendezvous with multiple spacecraft capable of supporting crews of their own: Soyuz T-15 in 1986, which launched cosmonaut Leonid Kizim to the Salyut 7 space station, and then flew him to, what was at the time, the Soviet Union's MIR space station. [...] For Artemis III, though, Starship and Blue Moon will each only require one launch to get the job done, and NASA wants to give them ample room to do so. "All three rockets will have more launch opportunities than are available for a lunar mission and will be able to reach the designated mission altitude in a single launch," the NASA update said. Orion and the Artemis III crew will stay docked with Starship for about a day before detaching to begin preparations for their return to Earth. Similar to the return of Artemis II in April, the Artemis III astronauts will target a parachute-assisted splashdown aboard Orion in the Pacific Ocean, off the United States' West Coast.

• NASA's ambitious Artemis 3 mission includes 3 giant rocket launches, 2 private moon landers and 1 big question: Can it all work together? | Space

  If NASA's schedule holds, four Artemis 3 astronauts will launch aboard an Orion spacecraft sometime in the second half of next year. Once in Earth orbit, they'll test Orion's capability to fly and function with two Artemis moon lander designs. NASA introduced that crew on Tuesday (June 9) during a ceremony here at the Johnson Space Center that also included new details on how the Artemis 3 mission will work. "Artemis 3 is an incredibly exciting, complicated, and highly coordinated multi-launch campaign," NASA Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons said Tuesday. "It's going to happen in a short period of time with three of the world's most powerful rockets." [...] Artemis 3 will be commanded by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, with the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano as pilot. Mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, both of NASA, round out the crew. They will fly Orion's longest crewed flight yet, and move NASA's Artemis program one step closer to returning astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2028. Here's what we knew before Tuesday's mission update: [...] The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 3 mission. They are: (from left) Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnick and Frank Rubio. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Stafford) "Additional powerful rockets will launch to place the Blue Origin and SpaceX Starship landers into orbit throughout the duration of the Artemis 3 mission," he said during Tuesday's ceremony. Isaacman said NAS will coordinate Artemis 3 with launches of SpaceX's massive Starship rocket and Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket that will launch their respective landers after NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) launches Orion.

• NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans

  “While this is a mission to Earth orbit, it is an important stepping stone to successfully landing on the Moon with Artemis IV. Artemis III is one of the most highly complex missions NASA has undertaken,” said Jeremy Parsons, Moon to Mars acting assistant deputy administrator, NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate in Washington. “For the first time, NASA will coordinate a launch campaign involving multiple spacecraft integrating new capabilities into Artemis operations. We’re integrating more partners and interrelated operations into this mission by design, which will help us learn how Orion, the crew, and ground teams all interact together with hardware and teams from both lander providers before we send astronauts to the Moon’s surface and build a Moon Base there.” [...] NASA is moving quickly to define next year’s Artemis III mission in Earth orbit, a crewed flight that will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between the agency’s Orion spacecraft and commercial landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. Since a February announcement adding an Artemis mission ahead of crewed landing missions to the Moon’s South Pole region, engineers have been evaluating mission profile options and operational considerations for Artemis III to ensure the test flight helps the agency and its partners reduce risk ahead of the next Americans landing on the Moon during Artemis IV. [...] The crew will spend more time aboard Orion than during Artemis II, further advancing the evaluation of life support systems, and for the first time will demonstrate the docking system performance. The mission will inform lander rendezvous and habitation concepts and mission operations in preparation for future surface missions. The agency also plans to test an upgraded heat shield during Orion’s return to Earth to enable more flexible and robust reentry profiles for future missions. The Artemis III Orion service module is pictured ahead of acoustic testing in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Operations and Checkout Facility on May 7, 2026. NASA/Jess Ruffa

• What we know about Artemis III: NASA… | The Planetary Society

  Our Work Explore Space Take Action About Membership Member Community Account Center Search “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan # What we know about Artemis III: NASA announces crew Asa Stahl Written by Asa Stahl, PhD Science Editor, The Planetary Society June 9, 2026 Artemis III is the next step in NASA’s plan to bring humankind back to the Moon. In 2027, the mission will launch astronauts into orbit around Earth, where they will dock with two test versions of lunar landing spacecraft. This dress rehearsal will set up Artemis IV to land people on the Moon as early as 2028. [...] Pete Conrad with Surveyor 3 during Apollo 12 ### Why send people back to the Moon? What can an astronaut do on the Moon that a robot can’t? ## What will Artemis III do? Artemis III will dock in orbit around Earth, testing out the spacecraft and spacesuits future astronauts will use when landing on the Moon. The astronauts will lift off on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket aboard the Orion crew capsule, which are the same spacecraft that Artemis II used to fly around the Moon. Instead of traveling to the Moon, though, the Artemis III astronauts will stay in orbit around Earth. There, they will rendezvous with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander and SpaceX’s Starship V3 in turn.