The next crewed Moon landing
Definition of done
Done when astronauts from any nation or agency land on the lunar surface and at least one steps out onto it. A crewed flyby or lunar orbit without landing, such as Artemis II, does not count, and neither does an Earth-orbit lander test like the planned Artemis III. Uncrewed lander demos and robotic landings also do not count, though they are milestones on the way.
Where it stands
NASA now targets the next crewed Moon landing for 2028 on Artemis IV, with Artemis III recast as a summer 2027 Earth-orbit test in which Orion docks with both the SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin Blue Moon landers. At an October 23 Kennedy Space Center briefing, NASA said both landers will be tested in low Earth orbit before any crewed landing, and it will not pick between them until those results are in. Uncrewed landing demos are targeted for late 2027 to early 2028, while an advisory panel member estimated a Starship landing needs around 22 refueling launches, a figure Elon Musk put at 6 to 8. Administrator Jared Isaacman said on September 24 that Artemis III was about three months behind schedule, and the next hardware gate is a year-end SLS tanking test.
Milestones
2026-10-23: NASA set the landing campaign: Artemis III as a 14-day Earth-orbit mission docking Orion with both landers, the first images of the Starship lander's crew cabin, and an extended Centaur upper stage replacing the dropped Exploration Upper Stage. — space — Artemis hardware cadence: II fix validated, III stacking, IV flow
2026-10-15: NASA confirmed the Orion heat shield performed as expected on Artemis II's crewed trip around the Moon, clearing a key concern for later crewed missions. — space — Artemis hardware cadence: II fix validated, III stacking, IV flow
2026-09-30: Both Artemis III SLS boosters were fully stacked at Kennedy Space Center. — space — Artemis hardware cadence: II fix validated, III stacking, IV flow
2026-09-28: Starship Flight 14 reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites, a first orbit for the vehicle behind one of NASA's two crewed landers, despite engine problems that ended the mission early. — space — Starship cadence: Starbase + Cape pad race
Related claims
- NASA — a crewed lunar landing on Artemis IV in 2028 (said 2026-09-07; due by 2028-12-31): pending.
- Jared Isaacman (NASA) — Starship flying about monthly or faster through the end of 2026 would give NASA confidence in Artemis schedules (said 2026-08-14; due by 2026-12-31): pending.
- SpaceX/Musk — Starship reaching a weekly or twice-weekly launch cadence in 2027, cut from an earlier daily forecast (said 2026-10-01; review by 2027-12-31): pending.
- Blue Origin — New Glenn, the rocket for its Blue Moon lander, flies again before the end of 2026 (said 2026-06-02; due by 2026-12-31): pending.