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NASA Unveils Revised Lunar Lander Plans for Artemis 3 and 4
On June 9, NASA announced the crew that will lead the Artemis III mission and unveiled a sharper roadmap for SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers.
The Artemis III flight, slated for a late‑2027 launch on the Space Launch System, will test the docking of the Orion crew capsule with a prototype Human Landing System (HLS) vehicle in low‑Earth orbit. This risk‑reduction mission precedes the first crewed lunar landing, Artemis IV, scheduled for 2028.
SpaceX’s Starship HLS SpaceX explained that its Starship HLS will double as the lunar lander and the translunar injection (TLI) stage. According to Jessica Jensen, vice‑president of customer operations and integration, the updated plan has Starship docking with Orion in Earth orbit instead of in a near‑rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. After docking, Starship will perform the TLI burn with Orion attached.
Jensen said the combined Starship‑Orion stack will travel to low lunar orbit, after which Starship will undock for the surface descent. She highlighted that moving the critical docking to Earth orbit improves crew safety and allows an abort from the lunar surface at any time, rather than waiting days for a rendezvous from NRHO.
The change also cuts propellant needs because the route to the Moon is more direct, Jensen added. She did not disclose how many tanker launches are now anticipated.
NASA’s Human Landing System program manager, Steve Creech, noted that the new approach eliminates the loiter requirements that had been imposed on the HLS vehicles. Creech explained that the loiter requirement had forced the landers to remain at a propellant depot until Orion was ready, a constraint that the new design removes.
Creech also said the change reduces the need for unique systems on the Starship HLS version, allowing the vehicle to stay closer to the baseline Starship fleet design. The Starship that will be used for Artemis III will be a Starship V3 with a docking adapter added; Jensen said the vehicle will have few other systems specific to the lunar lander, such as a crew cabin.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlighted on June 10 that SpaceX has demonstrated many of the required capabilities on Crew Dragon and stressed the importance of “other controllability tests” of the combined Starship‑Orion stack, particularly the negative‑X axis acceleration needed for the TLI burn.
Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 Blue Origin’s changes center on its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. According to Creech, the company has replaced the previously proposed “transporter” spacecraft with Mark 1‑derived transfer stages. The transporter had been designed to carry liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from low‑Earth orbit to the Moon for use by the Blue Moon lander.
Creech said the new architecture eliminates several major technology‑development risks. He noted that the original plan would have placed the first Blue Moon Mark 2 crewed landing as the third overall lunar landing by the end of the decade. Replacing the transporter with transfer stages, he said, “allows them to pull back and have an opportunity to fly earlier.”
John Couluris, senior vice president of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, said the company is continuing work on the Mark 2 lander while investigating the New Glenn explosion that occurred on May 28 during a static‑fire test. The explosion damaged the launch pad and raised questions about Blue Origin’s ability to launch the lander for Artemis III and other test flights.
Couluris reported that manufacturing of the Artemis III Mark 2 crew module and other lander subsystems is underway. He said the company’s factories are operating around‑the‑clock shifts “in a responsible manner.” He added that the vehicle should be ready for launch in 2027.
Context and Significance Artemis III will be the first crewed flight beyond low‑Earth orbit since the Apollo program, and the first test of a commercial lunar lander in Earth orbit. The mission will validate docking, crew transfer, and surface‑descent operations that are critical for Artemis IV, the first crewed lunar landing scheduled for early 2028.
Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have been selected by NASA to provide independent HLS vehicles, a strategy that fosters competition and provides insurance against technical delays. The revised acceleration approaches aim to reduce propellant needs, lower launch complexity, and improve crew safety.
Current Status NASA has announced the Artemis III crew and the new HLS approaches. SpaceX is preparing a Starship V3 with a docking adapter for the test flight, while Blue Origin is advancing the Mark 2 lander and its transfer stages. Both companies are working to meet the 2027 launch window for Artemis III and the 2028 window for Artemis IV.
The next steps include finalizing the docking and TLI test plans, completing the transfer stage development for Blue Origin, and ensuring that the launch infrastructure for both landers is ready. No definitive timelines for the number of propellant tanker launches or the exact launch dates have been released.
The Artemis program continues to target early 2028 for the first crewed lunar landing, with subsequent missions expected to follow annually as the program matures.
The Artemis III flight, slated for a late‑2027 launch on the Space Launch System, will test the docking of the Orion crew capsule with a prototype Human Landing System (HLS) vehicle in low‑Earth orbit. This risk‑reduction mission precedes the first crewed lunar landing, Artemis IV, scheduled for 2028.
SpaceX’s Starship HLS SpaceX explained that its Starship HLS will double as the lunar lander and the translunar injection (TLI) stage. According to Jessica Jensen, vice‑president of customer operations and integration, the updated plan has Starship docking with Orion in Earth orbit instead of in a near‑rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. After docking, Starship will perform the TLI burn with Orion attached.
Jensen said the combined Starship‑Orion stack will travel to low lunar orbit, after which Starship will undock for the surface descent. She highlighted that moving the critical docking to Earth orbit improves crew safety and allows an abort from the lunar surface at any time, rather than waiting days for a rendezvous from NRHO.
The change also cuts propellant needs because the route to the Moon is more direct, Jensen added. She did not disclose how many tanker launches are now anticipated.
NASA’s Human Landing System program manager, Steve Creech, noted that the new approach eliminates the loiter requirements that had been imposed on the HLS vehicles. Creech explained that the loiter requirement had forced the landers to remain at a propellant depot until Orion was ready, a constraint that the new design removes.
Creech also said the change reduces the need for unique systems on the Starship HLS version, allowing the vehicle to stay closer to the baseline Starship fleet design. The Starship that will be used for Artemis III will be a Starship V3 with a docking adapter added; Jensen said the vehicle will have few other systems specific to the lunar lander, such as a crew cabin.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlighted on June 10 that SpaceX has demonstrated many of the required capabilities on Crew Dragon and stressed the importance of “other controllability tests” of the combined Starship‑Orion stack, particularly the negative‑X axis acceleration needed for the TLI burn.
Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 Blue Origin’s changes center on its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. According to Creech, the company has replaced the previously proposed “transporter” spacecraft with Mark 1‑derived transfer stages. The transporter had been designed to carry liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from low‑Earth orbit to the Moon for use by the Blue Moon lander.
Creech said the new architecture eliminates several major technology‑development risks. He noted that the original plan would have placed the first Blue Moon Mark 2 crewed landing as the third overall lunar landing by the end of the decade. Replacing the transporter with transfer stages, he said, “allows them to pull back and have an opportunity to fly earlier.”
John Couluris, senior vice president of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, said the company is continuing work on the Mark 2 lander while investigating the New Glenn explosion that occurred on May 28 during a static‑fire test. The explosion damaged the launch pad and raised questions about Blue Origin’s ability to launch the lander for Artemis III and other test flights.
Couluris reported that manufacturing of the Artemis III Mark 2 crew module and other lander subsystems is underway. He said the company’s factories are operating around‑the‑clock shifts “in a responsible manner.” He added that the vehicle should be ready for launch in 2027.
Context and Significance Artemis III will be the first crewed flight beyond low‑Earth orbit since the Apollo program, and the first test of a commercial lunar lander in Earth orbit. The mission will validate docking, crew transfer, and surface‑descent operations that are critical for Artemis IV, the first crewed lunar landing scheduled for early 2028.
Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have been selected by NASA to provide independent HLS vehicles, a strategy that fosters competition and provides insurance against technical delays. The revised acceleration approaches aim to reduce propellant needs, lower launch complexity, and improve crew safety.
Current Status NASA has announced the Artemis III crew and the new HLS approaches. SpaceX is preparing a Starship V3 with a docking adapter for the test flight, while Blue Origin is advancing the Mark 2 lander and its transfer stages. Both companies are working to meet the 2027 launch window for Artemis III and the 2028 window for Artemis IV.
The next steps include finalizing the docking and TLI test plans, completing the transfer stage development for Blue Origin, and ensuring that the launch infrastructure for both landers is ready. No definitive timelines for the number of propellant tanker launches or the exact launch dates have been released.
The Artemis program continues to target early 2028 for the first crewed lunar landing, with subsequent missions expected to follow annually as the program matures.
