CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is picking up the pace for the Artemis III mission, marking a major milestone by joining Orion’s crew and service modules at the Kennedy Space Center.
The integrated spacecraft will carry four astronauts on next year’s Artemis III mission, a crewed demonstration flight in low Earth orbit with a test version of a commercial lunar lander, or landers.
Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing vehicles for the mission. Meanwhile, engineers will soon power up Orion for the first time before continuing testing and final hardware installations.
At the same time, work is moving ahead on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Teams have begun stacking the solid rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, all four RS-25 engines have now been delivered to Kennedy, and additional rocket hardware is being assembled and inspected.
Florida Tech space expert Dr. Don Platt says NASA’s steady stream of milestones reflects the agency’s push to keep Artemis III on schedule. Rather than landing on the Moon, Artemis III will demonstrate rendezvous and docking with prototype commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit.
NASA says the mission is designed to validate the systems and procedures needed before astronauts attempt future lunar landing missions beginning with Artemis IV, currently targeted for 2028.
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