Put it in pencil: NASA’s Artemis III mission will begin as early as the end of 2027

Now, it looks like late 2027, early, for Artemis III.

“I have received responses from both vendors, SpaceX and Blue Origin, to meet our needs for the end of 2027, to stop, and to test the compatibility of both before reaching 2028,” Isaacman said on Monday.

Both companies have multi-billion dollar contracts to install and supply NASA astronauts for use on the Artemis missions. Both vehicles had to be refueled in space to fly to the Moon. This added complexity is not necessary for Earth orbit work.

“Taxpayers are making a lot of money to fund SpaceX and Blue Origin’s Human Landing System (HLS),” Isaacman said in a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee subcommittee that oversees NASA’s budget. “I would also appreciate that both companies are investing more than that.”

The Star and Blue Moon are each much larger than the Apollo lunar lander and could eventually be added to the Moon for multiple inter-lunar missions with passengers and cargo en route.

“It’s that capability that allows us not only to go back to the Moon, but to build a base on the Moon, to put a lot of stuff, fully and cheaply, on the surface, not to mention any other mission that comes from a rocket that you don’t have to throw away,” Isaacman said. “So we’re very grateful for that.”

There are major challenges in getting Starship and Blue Moon ready for human spaceflight. On Apollo 9, two astronauts took the lunar module for a test run, separated from the command module and a third member of the mission team for more than six hours before rejoining in low Earth orbit. A similar test on Artemis III, Starship or Blue Moon would require an advanced, autonomous life support system, propulsion engines, flight decks and flight controls, and propulsion systems. SpaceX and Blue Origin have released information about where the system is currently being developed and manufactured.

This artist shows NASA’s Orion space probe and SpaceX’s Starship landing near the Moon.

Credit: NASA/SpaceX

It’s possible that NASA could go for a smaller Artemis III mission, meeting and standing but not flying independent lunar landers. NASA leaders will have to decide on these options in the coming months, and their decision will be informed by how quickly and efficiently SpaceX is progressing with the launch of the next-generation Starship Version 3 rocket and Blue Origin, which is scheduled to land unsteadily near the southern tip of the Moon with the Blue Moon cargo lander.