NASA PLANS ARTEMIS III LANDER TESTS FOR 2027

NASA plans to test lunar landers developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX during a 14-day Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit in 2027. The agency changed Artemis III from a planned crewed Moon landing to a test mission ahead of an attempted landing in 2028. NASA named Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, along with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, as the crew aboard Orion. Jared Isaacman said on Friday that NASA expects a summer 2027 launch but has set no exact date. NASA says the crew and flight controllers will practise rendezvous, docking, habitation and other procedures needed for later lunar missions.

Blue Origin plans to launch a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander aboard a New Glenn rocket before Orion launches. According to NASA, the lander will enter a circular orbit about 273 miles above Earth and can remain there for up to 30 days. Engineers will check Blue Moon in orbit before NASA launches Orion aboard its Space Launch System rocket. NASA has removed the rocket’s upper stage because the revised mission requires Orion to reach only low Earth orbit. Orion will also attempt to dock with a test version of SpaceX’s Starship.

NASA says Artemis III will help it choose a lander for Artemis IV, its planned 2028 mission to return astronauts to the lunar surface. The agency intends to delay that choice for as long as possible. Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s Artemis programme manager, said Blue Origin and SpaceX each plan lunar landing missions in 2028. “We’re launching three spacecraft on three different rockets and testing how they operate together — something NASA has never attempted,” Parsons said.