Artemis III

Artemis III
Summary of the Artemis III mission plan
NamesExploration Mission-3 (2017–2019)
Mission typeCrewed lunar landing
OperatorNASA
Mission duration~30 days[1]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftOrion CM-004
Starship HLS
Manufacturer
Start of mission
Launch dateSeptember 2026 (planned)[4]
RocketSpace Launch System Block 1[5]
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39B
End of mission
Landing sitePacific Ocean (planned)
Moon lander
Landing siteSouth polar region

Artemis III is planned to be the first crewed Moon landing mission of the Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Starship HLS lander.[6] Artemis III is planned to be the second crewed Artemis mission and the first American crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972.[7] In December 2023, the Government Accountability Office reported that the mission is not likely to occur before 2027;[8] as of January 2024, NASA officially expects Artemis III to launch no earlier than September 2026 due to issues with the valves in Orion's life support system.[4][9]

In August 2023, due to delays in the development of Starship, NASA officials expressed an openness to flying Artemis III without a crewed landing.[10][11] In this case, the mission may become a crewed visit to the Lunar Gateway.[12] In April 2024, it was reported that alternative mission options being internally evaluated by NASA include a test of docking between Orion and Starship HLS in low Earth orbit.[13]

  1. ^ Gebhardt, Chris (22 September 2017). "SLS EM-1 and EM-2 launch dates realign; EM-3 gains notional mission outline". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. ^ Berger, Eric (16 April 2021). "NASA selects SpaceX as its sole provider for a lunar lander - "We looked at what's the best value to the government"". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. ^ Brown, Katherine (16 April 2021). "As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon". NASA. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference sn-20240109 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Loff, Sarah (16 October 2019). "NASA Commits to Future Artemis Missions With More SLS Rocket Stages". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ Potter, Sean (23 March 2022). "NASA Provides Update to Astronaut Moon Lander Plans Under Artemis". NASA. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  7. ^ Foust, Jeff (13 March 2023). "NASA planning to spend up to $1 billion on space station deorbit module". SpaceNews. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  8. ^ Foust, Jeff (1 December 2023). "GAO report warns Artemis 3 landing may be delayed to 2027". SpaceNews. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Will. "NASA Delays Artemis 2, Artemis 3 Moon Missions for Safety Reasons". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  10. ^ "NASA may delay crewed lunar landing beyond Artemis 3 mission". CNA. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  11. ^ "NASA Acknowledges Challenges In Artemis III Schedule". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  12. ^ Berger, Eric [@SciGuySpace] (8 August 2023). "There has been chatter for awhile that, if there are HLS and/or spacesuit delays, Artemis III could turn into a humans-to-Gateway mission. Gateway being ready, of course, is no slam-dunk either" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Berger, Eric (19 April 2024). "NASA may alter Artemis III to have Starship and Orion dock in low Earth orbit". Ars Technica. Retrieved 6 July 2024.