Artemis III redefined for 2027 low Earth orbit rendezvous

Artemis III has been redefined to demonstrate rendezvous and docking in low Earth orbit. The launch date is 2027.

The Artemis III launch date is 2027, and the mission will use Orion. Its orbit is listed as low Earth orbit.

The named crew is Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and Luca Parmitano. The crew plan lists 2 crew members to the lunar surface and 2 remaining aboard Orion.

The payload includes test articles for human landing systems. Blue Origin and SpaceX are listed as industry partners and commercial human landing system providers.

The mission is described as a risk-reduction effort that will prove hardware and add operational experience. It has flexibility built into the flight timeline.

The architecture calls for three spacecraft, each launched on a different heavy-lift rocket. The mission duration is given as 14 days.

Orion and the Artemis astronauts are set to launch from Kennedy Space Center. Orion's listed orbits include an elliptical Earth orbit of 18 x 1122 miles and a circular orbit at about 345 miles.

Blue Moon Mark 2 is listed with a circular low Earth orbit of 273 miles and a duration of 30 days.

Artemis III has been redefined to demonstrate rendezvous and docking. The landers and Orion no longer rendezvous in near-rectilinear halo orbit, and the orbit differs for each partner.

NASA lists a 2028 landing on the lunar south pole, while Blue Origin and SpaceX are identified as commercial human landing system providers. That connects the landing milestone to Blue Origin and SpaceX for lunar industry trackers.

The 2027 flight includes human landing system test articles and a rendezvous and docking demonstration in low Earth orbit, with partner-specific orbits. This gives industry watchers specific hardware, orbit and partnership details to monitor.

A landing on the lunar south pole is listed for 2028.

Blue Origin and SpaceX are required to perform an uncrewed demonstration mission.