Artemis III mission preview map
Mission countdown
Target NET Wed, 01 Dec 2027 00:00:00 UTC
This countdown points at NASA’s current no-earlier-than window for Artemis III. The mission profile, vehicles and crew complement are firm but the launch date is expected to move as SLS, Orion and the two Human Landing Systems complete their qualification campaigns. Live JPL Horizons trajectory data will replace the illustrative positions above as soon as the mission is on the pad.
Artemis III
UpcomingPreviewCrewed Human Landing System test in Earth orbit
Artemis III is NASA’s third crewed Artemis flight and the first to fly with a Human Landing System aboard. Targeted for late 2027, the mission was redesignated by Administrator Jared Isaacman in February 2026: instead of attempting a lunar surface landing, the crew will rendezvous and dock in low Earth orbit with one or both commercially developed lunar landers, SpaceX’s Starship HLS and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, and evaluate the new Axiom AxEMU spacesuit. The first crewed lunar landing of the programme moves to Artemis IV in early 2028.
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Mission facts
- Target launch
- Late 2027 (NET)
- Launch site
- LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center
- Launch vehicle
- SLS Block 1
- Crew spacecraft
- Orion
- Crew
- Four (TBA)
- Mission type
- Crewed HLS test, Earth orbit
- Rendezvous targets
- Starship HLS, Blue Moon
- Comparable mission
- Apollo 9 (1969)
Mission overview
The mission profile is broadly comparable to Apollo 9 in 1969, when the Apollo Lunar Module was first crewed and qualified in Earth orbit before Apollo 11 attempted the actual landing. Artemis III plays the same role for the HLS era: it is the crewed shakedown of an entirely new class of lander hardware, with the safety net of being only a few hundred kilometres from a recoverable splashdown.
Orion will launch on an SLS Block 1 rocket from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, identical in configuration to the rocket that flew Artemis II in April 2026. After orbit-raising burns it will rendezvous and dock with one of the pre-positioned HLS vehicles, opening up a multi-day docked phase during which the crew will rehearse the surface-mission workflow end to end: don the AxEMU spacesuit, transfer through the docking tunnel, conduct lander systems checks, and exercise abort and emergency procedures.
A second rendezvous with the alternate HLS may follow on the same mission, depending on schedule and hardware readiness. Both Starship HLS and Blue Moon are required to be operationally qualified before NASA flies the first crewed surface mission, and Artemis III is the only opportunity to wring either out with humans aboard before that commitment is made.
The Lunar Gateway orbital outpost, originally planned as the rendezvous point for Artemis III, was cancelled in March 2026 as NASA shifted resources toward the surface base programme. SLS Block 1B and Block 2, along with the Exploration Upper Stage, were also cancelled in February 2026; from Artemis IV onwards SLS will fly with the United Launch Alliance Centaur V upper stage developed for Vulcan Centaur.
Primary objectives
- Qualify the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit for crewed extravehicular activity on a future lunar surface mission.
- Demonstrate Orion-to-HLS rendezvous, docking, crew transfer and undocking procedures in low Earth orbit.
- Validate the life-support, propulsion, power and communications systems of at least one Human Landing System (Starship HLS or Blue Moon) with humans aboard.
- Rehearse the surface-mission workflow end to end while remaining within abort range of an Earth splashdown.
- Clear the technical and operational risk gates required to commit Artemis IV to a crewed lunar surface landing.
The three vehicles
Three independent spacecraft will share an Earth orbit during Artemis III. The preview map above shows their illustrative positions; the live tracker that replaces it will show their real orbital geometry from NASA JPL Horizons.
Orion
Crewed · NASA / Lockheed Martin
Four-person crew capsule with European Service Module from ESA. Launches on SLS Block 1 from LC-39B and is the recovered element at end of mission.
Starship HLS
Lander · SpaceX
Human-rated derivative of the Starship upper stage, pre-positioned in low Earth orbit by an uncrewed support launch. Selected under NASA HLS Option A in 2021.
Blue Moon
Lander · Blue Origin
Hydrogen / oxygen lunar lander developed by the National Team led by Blue Origin. Selected under NASA HLS Sustaining Lunar Development in 2023.
Mission phases
The detailed itinerary will be published once NASA releases the Artemis III flight plan. The planned phase structure below is the current best estimate based on the February 2026 mission architecture announcement.
- Launch and Orbit InsertionDay 0
SLS Block 1 lifts off from LC-39B carrying Orion and four astronauts to an initial parking orbit. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage performs a circularisation burn to set up the rendezvous geometry.
- Phasing and HLS RendezvousDay 1 to 2
Orion executes a sequence of orbit-raising burns to catch up with the pre-positioned Starship HLS (or Blue Moon). Final approach uses the same proximity-operations workflow validated on Artemis II.
- Docked OperationsDay 2 to 6
Crew enter the HLS through the docking tunnel, conduct systems checks, don and exercise the AxEMU spacesuit, and rehearse the surface-mission workflow. Possible second rendezvous with the alternate HLS later in the docked phase.
- Return and SplashdownDay 7+
Undock from the HLS, perform a deorbit burn, separate the service module and recover the Orion crew capsule in the Pacific Ocean. Total mission duration expected to be in the order of one to two weeks.
Artemis III questions
- When is Artemis III launching?
- NASA’s current target is late 2027, with no firm launch date announced as of May 2026. The mission was rescoped in February 2026 from a lunar landing to a crewed Human Landing System test in low Earth orbit, and the schedule is gated by qualification of either the SpaceX Starship HLS or the Blue Origin Blue Moon lander. As soon as a firm launch UTC is published this page will switch from preview mode to a live JPL Horizons trajectory.
- Why is Artemis III no longer the first lunar landing?
- In February 2026 NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a restructured Artemis manifest. Both Human Landing System contractors (SpaceX and Blue Origin) were running behind the original Artemis III launch window, and the agency decided it would be unsafe to attempt a first crewed landing without first flying the HLS with humans aboard in the recoverable safety of Earth orbit. Artemis III was redesignated to that crewed HLS shakedown role and Artemis IV, in early 2028, became the first crewed lunar surface landing of the programme.
- What are the three vehicles shown on the preview tracker?
- Orion is the four-person NASA crew capsule launched on SLS Block 1 from Kennedy Space Center. Starship HLS is SpaceX’s Human Landing System derivative of Starship, pre-positioned in Earth orbit ahead of Orion’s arrival. Blue Moon is Blue Origin’s competing Human Landing System under the same NASA contract structure. Artemis III is the only mission on the manifest in which Orion will rendezvous with one or both landers in Earth orbit; from Artemis IV onwards the rendezvous moves to lunar orbit.
- Why are the satellite positions on the tracker fixed?
- None of the three vehicles has launched yet, so no Two-Line Element set or JPL Horizons ephemeris exists for any of them. The positions and orbits shown on both the 2D map and the 3D globe are illustrative only, chosen to convey the rendezvous geometry at a glance. The tracker will switch to live JPL Horizons trajectory data as soon as Orion is on orbit, in the same format used on the Artemis I and Artemis II tracker pages.
- Can I view Artemis III in 3D and in first-person view?
- Yes. The view-mode toggle at the top right of the tracker switches between a 2D world map (Mapbox) and a photorealistic 3D globe (CesiumJS), the same engines used on the live ISS tracker on the home page. From 3D globe view you can also enter FPV (first-person view) to drop the camera onto Orion and look forward along the velocity vector or straight down at Earth. Drag, scroll or pinch to exit FPV at any time. All positions remain illustrative until live ephemeris data is available.
- Who will fly on Artemis III?
- No crew has been formally announced as of May 2026. NASA traditionally names Artemis crews twelve to eighteen months before launch. Given the December 2017 Space Policy Directive 1 commitment to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon, and given Artemis II already flew the first woman (Christina Koch) and first person of colour (Victor Glover) beyond low Earth orbit, the Artemis III crew is expected to be the team that ultimately qualifies the AxEMU spacesuit for use on Artemis IV’s historic lunar landing.
- What is the AxEMU spacesuit?
- The Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, built by Axiom Space under a NASA xEVAS contract, is the next-generation surface spacesuit that replaces the 1980s-era EMU used on the International Space Station. AxEMU is designed for extended walking, kneeling and reaching in lunar gravity and dust, with improved life support, mobility and thermal protection. Artemis III is the first crewed flight on which AxEMU will be exercised in space, and its qualification on this mission is a prerequisite for the surface EVA on Artemis IV.
- Will this page show live mission data?
- Yes, in due course. The Artemis I and Artemis II tracker pages each pull live position and trajectory data from NASA’s JPL Horizons service. When Artemis III is on the pad, this preview page will switch over to the same live-data architecture, with second-by-second position, velocity, distance from Earth, mission phase, and Deep Space Network status for Orion and (where telemetry is published) for the two Human Landing Systems.
Continue exploring
Artemis programme overview
The full Artemis mission directory: programme background, current status of each flight, and links to every dedicated tracker.
Artemis I
Uncrewed test flight, Distant Retrograde Orbit
Artemis II
First crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17
Live ISS tracker
See where the International Space Station is right now and when it will pass over your location next.