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NASA outlines Artemis 3 as three-rocket lunar lander test, not a landing
Engadget reports NASA detailed Artemis 3 as a two-week sequence of Blue Origin, SLS and SpaceX launches to dock Orion with two commercial landers, with no firm date.
NASA has laid out how it intends to fly Artemis 3 as a crewed test of commercial moon landers rather than a lunar landing, using three heavy-lift rockets from Florida within about two weeks, Engadget reported, citing a NASA mission description1.
The agency earlier this year delayed the next crewed moon landing to 2028 and recast Artemis 3 as a lander-operations test, Engadget said1.
In the sequence NASA described, Blue Origin would first launch New Glenn with a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into low Earth orbit, about 273 miles up1. NASA would then launch the Space Launch System with the Orion capsule carrying NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, with Orion targeting an orbit of about 345 miles before rendezvousing with Blue Moon Mark 21.
The crew would spend a couple of days checking systems, then open the hatch, enter the lander and test atmosphere, pressure, software, flight-control and life-support functions before returning to Orion, which would undock so Blue Moon Mark 2 could set up for a later rendezvous, Engadget reported1.
SpaceX would then launch Starship version 3 with a docking system at the forward end for a shorter, about two-hour rendezvous with Orion1. The crew would not enter Starship and would only verify docking and undocking, then could spend about five more days in orbit before returning home, according to the report1.
NASA said the two dockings would show how Orion works with two different commercial lander designs on one flight, Engadget reported1. The mission would also be used to evaluate new Orion crew survival suits1.
Engadget said NASA has not set a launch date1. It cited NASA Watch reporting last month that Administrator Jared Isaacman told the agency Artemis 3 is three months behind schedule, with a best-case summer 2027 launch aimed at preserving two landing opportunities for Artemis 4 in 20281. Engadget said Blue Origin’s New Glenn pad exploded in a May hot-fire test and the company is working to make it usable again by the end of this year1.
