NASA lays out plan for Artemis 3 moon-lander test flight —but when will it launch?

NASA has unveiled a comprehensive plan for its Artemis III moon-lander test flight, stressing its critical importance to the agency's lunar ambitions. During a press conference at Kennedy Space Center, NASA's Artemis program manager, Jeremy Parsons, highlighted the complexity of the upcoming launch campaign, which will involve three powerful rockets: NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), SpaceX's Starship, and Blue Origin's New Glenn.

These rockets will launch from Florida's Space Coast. The sequence of launches is expected to begin with New Glenn, followed by SLS, and finally Starship. The Artemis III crew, comprising NASA's Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and ESA's Luca Parmitano, will be transported to low Earth orbit (LEO) in NASA's Orion spacecraft.

Following a two-day period for Orion's systems check and crew operations with Blue Moon lander, the Starship will launch on Flight Day 8, rendezvousing with Orion for a two-hour docking demonstration. The Artemis III mission is projected to last six to nine days, culminating in an ocean splashdown. The primary objective of this mission is to validate the systems and processes necessary for future crewed lunar landings, potentially as early as 2028 with Artemis IV.