More than 53 years after Apollo 17 became the last mission to land astronauts on the moon, NASA is about a year away from launching Artemis III, a critical step in the agency’s effort to return humans to the lunar surface by 2028.
Speaking June 24 at the SAP NOW Summit in Washington, D.C., Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, outlined a revised mission architecture that positions Artemis III as a risk-reduction mission rather than the first lunar landing.
She explained that Artemis III will conduct a full-scale test of commercial lunar landing systems in Earth orbit before NASA attempts its first crewed lunar landing during Artemis IV in 2028.
“It is truly the most daring, technologically challenging, collaborative international endeavor that humanity has ever set out to achieve … and really to secure America’s leadership in deep space for exploration and discovery,” Glaze said.
The revised approach is intended to reduce technical risk while advancing the agency’s broader goal of establishing a sustained human presence on the moon and supporting future crewed missions to Mars.
“The last time we landed on the moon was over 50 years ago, in 1972, and so we’re trying to bring back that capability, be able to go back to the moon, and this time go to stay,” Glaze said.
Glaze said Artemis III will not attempt a lunar landing. Instead, the mission will validate key technologies and operational procedures using two commercial lunar landers before NASA sends astronauts to the lunar surface.
“This mission is really designed to help us reduce the risk in landing on the moon,” Glaze said. “We’re not going to land on the moon with this mission, but we are going to test out our two landers.”
The mission architecture calls for Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Pathfinder to launch first, where it can remain in orbit for several weeks. NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will then launch a four-person crew that will rendezvous with the Blue Moon vehicle in Earth orbit.
Astronauts are expected to spend about two days docked with Blue Moon, including opening the hatch and entering the spacecraft to evaluate its systems and operations.
After completing those activities, Orion will undock and rendezvous with SpaceX’s Starship lander for approximately one day of additional checkout testing before returning to Earth. Glaze said the overall mission is expected to last between 12 and 14 days.
The mission will also provide NASA with additional data on Orion’s heat shield following what Glaze described as the successful completion of Artemis II in April.
“With the spectacular success back in April of Artemis Two … our administrator has come forward and encouraged us and inspired us to speed things up. Let’s go faster. Let’s do more,” she said.
NASA is now targeting Artemis IV as the mission that will return astronauts to the lunar surface.
“Artemis IV is intended to be the first lunar landing on the surface of the moon in 2028. That’s the goal. It’s a challenge, but that’s what we’re working toward,” Glaze said.
According to Glaze, the 2028 landing represents the next step toward establishing a long-term human presence on the moon by the mid-2030s while demonstrating technologies needed for future deep-space exploration.
The Artemis program also aligns with the Trump administration’s broader goal of expanding U.S. leadership in space exploration and preparing for eventual human missions to Mars, she said.
As part of NASA’s longer-term exploration strategy, Glaze said the agency is also preparing to launch Space Reactor One Freedom, a spacecraft powered by a nuclear fission reactor that NASA is developing with the Department of Energy. The mission is targeted for launch in 2028 and is expected to help advance technologies needed for future missions deeper into the solar system.