NASA is preparing a major rehearsal in 2027 to help pave the way for future astronaut landings on the Moon, according to ScienceDaily. The Artemis III demonstration mission will focus on rendezvous and docking between the Orion spacecraft and commercial lunar landers in Earth orbit.
Data from that mission, along with results from later uncrewed tests near the Moon, is expected to help NASA reduce risks and improve astronaut safety before crewed lunar landings begin in 2028. NASA is working with SpaceX and Blue Origin on human landing systems designed to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back.
For Artemis III, both companies will launch test versions of their landers on commercial rockets. The astronauts will launch separately aboard Orion on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, with Orion remaining in low Earth orbit for the mission’s docking tests.
NASA says the Blue Origin test lander is expected to launch first, followed later by SpaceX’s Starship test article. Orion will complete two separate rendezvous and docking sequences, one with each prototype, before the crew returns to Earth and splashes down.
Agency officials say the mission will be a complex dress rehearsal for the launch and mission timing needed for future Moon landings. NASA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin plan to use the demonstration to refine hardware, operations, and integration across several major U.S. launch and control sites.
