Artemis III is set to be NASA's most complex mission yet, with a crew of four astronauts, three spacecraft, and a two-week stay in orbit. This ambitious endeavor will involve a series of "firsts" for the Artemis program and human spaceflight, including the first crewed mission to rendezvous and dock with two separate spacecraft designed to carry their own crews. The mission will launch a crew of four aboard the Orion spacecraft, which will dock with the Blue Moon and Starship lunar landers, both designed by different companies. The success of this mission will set the stage for a crewed moon landing on Artemis IV, but NASA must first master the complicated demands of Artemis III to confidently set its sights on the lunar surface.
The mission will launch a crew of four aboard the Orion spacecraft, which will dock with the Blue Moon and Starship lunar landers, both designed by different companies. The success of this mission will set the stage for a crewed moon landing on Artemis IV, but NASA must first master the complicated demands of Artemis III to confidently set its sights on the lunar surface.
One of the most challenging aspects of Artemis III is the coordination of multiple launch vehicles and launch pads. The Blue Moon will launch on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket from Space Launch Complex-36, while the Orion spacecraft will be launched on the SLS rocket from KSC's Launch Complex-39B. This will require cross-agency and commercial collaboration for range availability and resource use constraints.
The Blue Moon is the first of the three spacecraft set to make it to orbit and is capable of remaining in space for up to 30 days. This will give Blue Origin and NASA an opportunity to confirm the lander's condition and functionality before committing the Artemis III crew and Orion to launch and join it on orbit.
The Artemis III mission will also give both lunar lander providers the chance to mature their designs based on actual in-flight data. The Blue Moon and Starship will not be the final, landing-capable versions of the spacecraft, but rather prototypes that will be tested and improved upon.
The mission will also involve a test article EVA spacesuit designed to mirror what astronauts will wear during future excursions across the lunar surface. This suit will provide engineers with data about how it will interact within the lander's crew cabin.
Despite its dozen launches to space, Starship is still very much in a developmental stage and has yet to meet many of NASA's requirements to fly a crewed lunar landing. The V3 upgrade includes hardware that will be needed for an actual moon landing mission, such as docking ports to perform propellant transfers in space.
The success of Artemis III would pave the way for NASA's lunar landing plans on Artemis IV, currently scheduled for 2028. Barring any development delays or complications during Artemis III, Starship is the vehicle NASA has selected to carry out the Artemis IV moon landing, the first return of astronauts to the lunar surface in more than half a century.
