Now, it looks more like late 2027 at the earliest for Artemis III.
“I have received responses from both providers, both SpaceX and Blue Origin, to meet our needs for a rendezvous, docking and testing of interoperability of both landers in late 2027 prior to a landing attempt in 2028,” Isaacman said Monday.
Both companies have multimillion-dollar contracts to develop and deliver human-capable landers to NASA for use on Artemis missions. Both vehicles need to refuel in space in order to fly to the Moon. This additional complexity is not necessary for an Earth orbit mission.
“Taxpayers are making a very large investment in both SpaceX and Blue Origin’s Human Landing System (HLS) capability,” Isaacman said in a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee subcommittee responsible for NASA’s budget. “I would also appreciate if both companies are investing much more than that.”
Starship and Blue Moon are significantly larger than the Apollo lunar lander and could eventually be refueled on the Moon for multiple trips between the lunar surface and orbiting cargo and crew carriers.
“It’s that capability that allows us to not just get back to the Moon, but actually build the lunar base, put a lot of mass, sufficiently and affordably, on the surface, not to mention all the other applications that come from a rocket that doesn’t have to be thrown away,” Isaacman said. “So we’re very grateful for that.”
There are big challenges in preparing Starship and Blue Moon for a human spaceflight mission. On Apollo 9, two astronauts carried the lunar module for a test, separating from the command module with the mission’s third crew member for more than six hours before reconnecting in low Earth orbit. A similar test on Artemis III, Starship, or Blue Moon would require an independent advanced life support system, human-rated engines, a cockpit and flight controls, and a docking mechanism. SpaceX and Blue Origin have released some details about where those systems are in development and production.
This artist’s rendering shows NASA’s Orion spacecraft docking with SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander near the Moon.
Credit: NASA/SpaceX
This artist’s rendering shows NASA’s Orion spacecraft docking with SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander near the Moon.
Credit: NASA/SpaceX
It’s possible that NASA could opt for a less ambitious Artemis III mission, with a rendezvous and docking, but without a crewed flight independent of the lunar lander. NASA leaders must decide on these options in the coming months, and their thinking will be based on how quickly and successfully SpaceX moves forward with the flight of the next-generation Starship Version 3 rocket and Blue Origin’s planned uncrewed landing near the Moon’s south pole with the Blue Moon cargo lander.
