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NASA announces near-Earth orbit lander test plan for Artemis III
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NASA announces the Artemis III mission plan: in 2027, SLS will launch Orion, carrying NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas along with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano into near-Earth orbit, where it will separately dock with Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 and SpaceX's Starship Version 3 test articles. During the planned 14-day mission, the crew and flight controllers will rehearse rendezvous, docking, stay, and operating procedures, which NASA says are necessary for astronauts to land near the lunar South Pole in 2028. NASA made clear that during this test the crew will not enter Starship. According to NASA, this is a key on-orbit verification before astronauts return to the lunar surface, with the actual lunar landing scheduled for 2028.
Report timeline
- NASA announces Artemis III mission: testing Blue Origin and SpaceX landers in low Earth orbit
NASA has announced the Artemis III mission plan, which in 2027 will launch an Orion spacecraft on SLS with four astronauts into low Earth orbit, where they will separately dock with test articles of Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 and SpaceX's Starship Version 3.
NASA ·