NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined a revised Artemis schedule on October 23, 2026, targeting a summer 2027 low-Earth orbit test flight for Artemis III and a 2028 lunar landing for Artemis IV, as SpaceX and Blue Origin race to ready their competing lunar landers.
NASA is rushing to prepare rockets, spacecraft, and commercial landers for a rigorous 14-day orbital test mission slated for the summer of 2027. The agency revealed fresh details during an October 23 press briefing at the Kennedy Space Center. Artemis III will serve as a proving ground for private heavy-lift systems built by SpaceX and Blue Origin before humans return to the lunar surface. Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya and Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons joined Isaacman to present the update at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis III Shifts to Low-Earth Orbit Test Mission
Artemis III will stay close to home rather than descending to the moon under a restructured mission architecture established earlier this year. Four astronauts aboard the Orion capsule will rendezvous and dock with test articles in low-Earth orbit, roughly a few hundred miles above Earth rather than nearly 239,000 miles away. The estimated 14-day test mission will involve the launch of three massive rockets and involve docking and undocking the crewed Orion spacecraft multiple times with experimental vehicles. Jeremy Parsons described it as likely the most complicated launch campaign ever undertaken.
Blue Origin’s uncrewed New Glenn rocket will lift off first, carrying the Blue Moon Mark 2 test lander. NASA’s Space Launch System will then launch the Orion capsule carrying astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano. On day three of the flight, Orion will dock with Blue Moon. This will kick off two days of crew operations during which two of the astronauts will enter the lander crew cabin to evaluate life-support systems, environmental controls, and emergency scenarios.
Blue Origin and SpaceX Work Toward NASA Targets
Both commercial partners face demanding schedules to meet NASA targets. Blue Origin is working to recover from an explosion that occurred on the pad in May, though the company expects to resume launches in November. Artemis Program Manager Jeremy Parsons noted that Blue Origin’s design for the Artemis III lander test article is in good shape. He praised the firm’s progress while rebuilding its launch complex, noting that armies of workers are constructing away to achieve massive progress. SpaceX is building its enormous Starship launch vehicle—which recently completed its first uncrewed orbital test flight in September. SpaceX faces the immediate challenge of proving it can refuel in orbit through a complex chain of operations involving spacecraft recovery, orbital propellant transfer, and lunar landing systems.
We will never launch until we are ready, but we will not accept that great achievements simply require more time and more money, nor will NASA sit idly by and watch one of the most consequential moments of this new century pass [to] our overseas competitors.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, via Payload Space
Isaacman acknowledged that Artemis III experienced a primary delay related to supply chains for both SpaceX and Blue Origin test landers that had put the timeline behind schedule. Agency teams are actively working alongside commercial partners as engineers complete stacking operations inside High Bay 3 and core stage work inside High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA is preparing to integrate the solid rocket boosters with the rocket’s core stage, paving the way for a year-end tanking test and a summer 2027 launch window.
Preparing For Artemis IV And The 2028 Lunar Landing
The successful completion of Artemis III will act as a tiebreaker for NASA next major milestone. The agency has not yet determined whether SpaceX or Blue Origin will secure the contract for the historic Artemis IV mission, which targets early 2028 to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Both companies are pushing margins as SpaceX aims to conduct its uncrewed lunar landing demonstration in late 2027 and Blue Origin targets early 2028 for its uncrewed MK1 lander under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
The United States contends with an accelerated timeline to maintain leadership against international competitors targeting the lunar south pole. Valuable water ice in permanently shadowed craters could be converted into breathable air and rocket fuel there. Isaacman stressed that agency personnel will maintain intense oversight.
Join @NASA today at 2 p.m. EDT to hear the latest updates on our Artemis III mission that will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit next year, and how plans to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2028 are progressing.Learn where to watch: https://t.co/J5Tjs2PP6j pic.twitter.com/GEMwQtJ87q
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LIVE: @NASAAdmin and agency leaders are sharing the latest updates on next year's Artemis III mission and our plans to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon by 2028. https://t.co/G1ya48yeun
