NASA Redesigns Artemis Lander Missions, Targets 2028 Lunar Touchdown
The space agency has outlined a new blueprint for getting astronauts back to the Moon, changing how the mission's key components will work together.
By Kateryna Melnyk ·
NASA is aiming to put astronauts back on the lunar surface as soon as 2028, laying out a detailed blueprint for the final steps of the journey during a news briefing. The agency's plan for the Artemis Program outlines how it intends to get there, marking a significant shift in how the mission's hardware will operate together.
A major part of the revised plan involves changing how the spacecraft and landers will meet up. For SpaceX's Starship lander, the Orion crew capsule will now dock with it in high-Earth orbit before the combined vehicle travels to the Moon. This is a different approach from earlier concepts, which had the vehicles meet much closer to the Moon.
The plan for Blue Origin's mission also has a specific set of instructions. It will involve four launches of the New Glenn rocket, but the mission will not require any spacecraft-to-spacecraft refueling. The plan does allow for the possibility of the Blue Moon lander meeting up with the Orion capsule in low-Lunar orbit.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman expressed confidence in the agency's ability to execute the plan. "This is an achievable path we are on right now," Isaacman said, adding, "We have the mandate, we have the resources, and the support from our stakeholders to be able to execute, and that's what we intend to do."
The timeline for the next steps remains on track. NASA is still planning to launch Artemis III, a demonstration mission involving a docking with both Blue Moon and Starship near Earth, by "summer" 2027. This is followed by the Artemis IV mission, which is scheduled for 2028 and would include an actual landing on the lunar surface.
The new mission architecture is the result of changes to the overall program. For example, a key request from SpaceX engineers earlier this year was to remove a requirement to dock with Orion in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon, as it required more energy and posed other difficulties. When NASA canceled the Lunar Gateway earlier this year, it resolved this issue for SpaceX.
While the agency has presented a clear and detailed path forward, the timeline for these missions remains a key question. The plan lays out specific dates for the Artemis missions, but whether NASA can stick to them is still to be determined.
Source: Ars Technica
