Artemis Explained: The Timeline for Returning Humans to the Moon

NASA's current plan is to fly Artemis III in 2027 as a crewed docking test in low Earth orbit. The agency then plans to attempt the first Artemis Moon landing on the next mission, Artemis IV, in 2028. That plan was checked on October 6, 2026. Neither flight has a specific launch date. Mashable reports that the administrator has told staff Artemis III is running behind.

When is Artemis III scheduled to launch?

NASA's Artemis III mission page lists the launch only as 2027. The Register reported on what Administrator Jared Isaacman told a House appropriations subcommittee in late April. He said SpaceX and Blue Origin had both said they could support a rendezvous and docking test in late 2027, according to the report.

Isaacman sent an email to employees on September 20. It was reported by Mashable, which said NASA confirmed its authenticity. In the email, Isaacman described a summer 2027 launch as the best case. He said the mission was about 90 days behind schedule. He cited delayed components such as valves and rocket steering parts.

NASA said in July that it had begun stacking the solid rocket boosters for the Space Launch System (SLS). SpacePolicyOnline reported on August 14 that a wet dress rehearsal was planned for November. A wet dress rehearsal is a practice countdown in which the rocket is loaded with propellant. That report predates Isaacman's September email.

Why is Artemis III no longer a Moon landing?

Artemis III was originally the landing mission. On February 27, 2026, NASA announced that the mission would instead test systems in low Earth orbit. It said the first landing would move to Artemis IV in 2028. It also said it would aim for at least one surface landing a year after that. The agency presented the change as a step-by-step build-up of capability modeled on Apollo.

Lander schedules were also a constraint. NASA's Office of Inspector General published an audit on March 10, 2026. It found that SpaceX's Starship lander had been delayed at least two years since its 2021 contract award. It also found that the lander would not be ready for a landing in June 2027. That was the launch date NASA had set in December 2024.

NASA's plan for the redesigned flight, set out in a June crew announcement and a July follow-up, looks like this:

• Crew: commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio.
• First docking: Blue Origin's Blue Moon test lander launches ahead of the crew. Orion stays docked for about two days, and up to two astronauts go inside.
• Second docking: SpaceX's Starship test lander follows for about a day of checks. The crew will not enter it.
• Duration: about two weeks in space.

NASA's mission page still says the flight will test one or both landers.

When will Artemis land on the Moon?

NASA's Artemis overview page targets 2028 for the first landing, on Artemis IV. The Artemis IV mission page lists the launch as early 2028. The agency also anticipates launching a second landing mission, Artemis V, the same year. On Artemis IV, four astronauts would launch on SLS. Two would descend to the lunar South Pole region for about a week.

The inspector general's report describes a SpaceX architecture that needs a propellant depot in Earth orbit. In that design, more than 10 tanker flights fill the depot. The design relies on ship-to-ship transfer of super-cold propellant, which has never been done. SpaceX's contract calls for an uncrewed demonstration landing before a crew attempts one. Starship reached orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026. Ars Technica reported that an in-orbit refueling demonstration still lay ahead.

New Glenn is the Blue Origin rocket that will launch Blue Moon. It suffered what the company called a significant anomaly during a hot-fire test on May 28. The anomaly destroyed launch pad equipment. Blue Origin said on June 30 that it would return to flight by the end of 2026.

Isaacman's September email, as reported by Mashable, warned that if Artemis III keeps slipping, NASA could be left with a single landing opportunity in late 2028.

How has the Artemis schedule changed?

Artemis I flew without a crew in late 2022. Artemis II was once planned for September 2025. It launched on April 1, 2026 and splashed down on April 10 after a crewed flight around the Moon.

According to the inspector general, the contractual delivery date for the Artemis III Starship lander slipped from June 2025 to September 2026. NASA then reset the landing to no later than June 2027. In February 2026 it converted the mission into an Earth-orbit test.

China aims to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030, state news agency Xinhua reported in February 2026. That month, the country flew a low-altitude test of its Long March-10 rocket and an in-flight abort test of its Mengzhou crew spacecraft.

What to watch

Next comes the fueling test, planned for November as of mid-August. Any NASA decision to name a launch month for Artemis III is also worth watching. For the landing, the markers are:

• New Glenn's return to flight
• Starship's first ship-to-ship refueling demonstration
• whether NASA keeps two landing missions on its 2028 calendar