NASA announcements / 23 October 2026
NASA Reveals Detailed Artemis III Flight Plan and New Lunar Landing Strategy
NASA announced:
Published and reviewed:
A planned 14-day orbital demonstration
Blue Moon launches first and can wait up to 30 days. Orion follows once the test vehicle is confirmed ready. About two days of docked Blue Moon evaluations are planned, including crew entry.
Starship launches after Blue Moon operations. Orion’s nose-to-nose docking test lasts up to two hours; astronauts remain in Orion. Communications, control and software integration are among the checks.
Blue Moon’s parking orbit is about 273 miles high. Orion initially enters an elliptical orbit, then stabilises thermally at about 345 miles before rendezvous. Starship’s planned orbit is 206 nautical miles. After docking tests, up to five further days are available for Orion evaluations and research before Pacific splashdown.
This describes NASA’s planned sequence, with flight flexibility retained. Read NASA’s detailed mission profile →
Two revised routes to the lunar surface
NASA is replacing the earlier near-rectilinear halo-orbit rendezvous concept for these initial landings with different approaches for each provider.
Starship: after orbital refuelling, the lander would meet Orion in Earth orbit and propel the combined spacecraft towards low lunar orbit. Orion modifications are being developed for this approach. Two astronauts would descend aboard Starship.
Blue Moon: the Mark 2 Alpha concept defers propellant transfer for the accelerated 2028 mission. Three transfer stages would deliver it towards elliptical polar lunar orbit, where it would meet Orion.
No first-landing provider has been selected. Neither company is assigned a specific Artemis lunar landing mission; readiness will inform selection. Both must complete uncrewed demonstrations and NASA certification before crewed landings.