Skip to content

NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans

Page: NASA article by Lauren E. Low, 13 May 2026; "updated May 15, 2026, to add clarification to the spacer design"; last updated 19 May 2026. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-3/nasa-outlines-preliminary-artemis-iii-mission-plans/. Fetched 2026-10-02T04:02:31Z. File: sources/moon-base/nasa-gov-missions-artemis-artemis-3-nasa-outlines-preliminary-artemis-iii-mission-plans.md.

Summary. How NASA is defining "next year's Artemis III mission in Earth orbit", the test of Orion's rendezvous and docking with both commercial landers before the first landing on Artemis IV. New beside the Ignition material: SLS flies with a spacer instead of an upper stage (Ignition deck 1 left it "TBD: ICPS OR spacer"), the landers are "pathfinder" vehicles, Orion's heat shield is upgraded, and the Deep Space Network won't be used. Its points are on the HLS, Orion, SLS and Exploration EVA System pages.

Key points

  • Since February. "Since a February announcement adding an Artemis mission ahead of crewed landing missions to the Moon's South Pole region, engineers have been evaluating mission profile options". This matches the HLS page's "updated plan, announced February 2026".
  • Speaker: "Jeremy Parsons, Moon to Mars acting assistant deputy administrator, NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate". The article predates the 22 May 2026 realignment, which names Parsons Artemis program manager in HSMD (realignment release). He says the mission is "one of the most highly complex missions NASA has undertaken" and that NASA will "send astronauts to the Moon's surface and build a Moon Base there".
  • SLS with a spacer. "Instead of using the interim cryogenic propulsion stage as the upper stage of the rocket, NASA will use a spacer without propulsion capabilities as a representation of the overall upper stage dimensions", with "the same overall dimensions and interface connection points"; built at Marshall.
  • Orbit and landers. Orion's European-built service module circularizes its orbit "in low Earth orbit", which allows "more launch opportunities for each element": "SLS carrying Orion and its crew, SpaceX's Starship human landing system pathfinder, and Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system pathfinder".
  • Crew operations. Four crew. "astronauts could potentially enter at least one lander test article"; more time aboard Orion than on Artemis II; "for the first time will demonstrate the docking system performance"; the mission "will inform lander rendezvous and habitation concepts".
  • Heat shield. "The agency also plans to test an upgraded heat shield during Orion's return to Earth to enable more flexible and robust reentry profiles".
  • Still to be decided: crew selection timing, "options to evaluate Axiom's AxEMU spacesuit lander interfaces ahead of lunar surface missions", duration, and science.
  • Communications: "NASA has asked for industry input on potential solutions to improve the communications with the ground during the mission since the Deep Space Network will not be used." It also seeks interest in CubeSats to deploy in Earth orbit.

What it doesn't say

The Centaur V or the "Standardized Block 1" of Ignition deck 1 (that slide is about later SLS flights; this article is about Artemis III only, and the two aren't related by either source); which lander the crew would enter; a launch month.

Human Landing System · Orion Spacecraft · Space Launch System · Exploration EVA System · RT-3 Crew Return · Ignition deck 1