NASA Sets 2027 Artemis III Lander Tests as SpaceX, Blue Origin Race for 2028 Moon Landing
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Oct 21
NASA Sets 2027 Artemis III Lander Tests as SpaceX, Blue Origin Race for 2028 Moon Landing
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Oct 21
Summary
Q3 2027 Artemis III is now slated to test SpaceX and Blue Origin landers in low Earth orbit, after NASA shifted the mission from a crewed moon landing to interoperability checkouts with Orion.
More than a dozen milestones remain before NASA picks a lander for Artemis IV in early 2028, including orbital refueling work, uncrewed lunar landing demos and vehicle design reviews.
SpaceX is targeting late 2027 for an uncrewed Starship lunar landing after 2026-27 tasks such as booster and ship catches, crew-cabin integration and its first in-orbit propellant transfer demonstration.
Blue Origin plans a Blue Moon MK2 uncrewed lunar landing in Q1 2028, but must finish engine and software qualification while restoring New Glenn operations after a May explosion damaged LC-36.
NASA still aims for the first Artemis crewed moon landing in 2028, though both companies' demo schedules leave little margin and the agency plans an Oct. 23 briefing on a possible Artemis acceleration.