NASA’s IAC 2026 Human Landing System (HLS) presentation plans Artemis III as a crewed Earth-orbit test in 2027, using Orion with test articles for both commercial lander systems. The presentation lists the Artemis IV lander as TBD and schedules that mission as the first crewed Artemis lunar landing, in early 2028.
What Artemis III is designed to test
NASA plans to use Artemis III to test Orion’s rendezvous and docking with commercial lander test articles from SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA’s May 13, 2026, preliminary mission plan also describes integrated mission operations and life-support evaluation.
That makes Artemis III an orbital test of how Orion and both providers’ systems work together before a planned lunar landing. NeoTeo previously covered Artemis III’s planned orbital rehearsal; NASA’s IAC schedule specifies that the test is intended to involve both lander systems.
NASA added the test mission to its revised architecture in February 2026. The agency said its earlier schedule was trending toward one mission every three years, a pace it considered uneconomical and a source of safety and operational-memory risks. NASA described the intermediate test as a way to reduce risk before the planned lunar landing.
NASA’s planned Artemis milestones
NASA’s IAC 2026 schedule sets out these future tests and missions:
| Planned period | Mission or test | NASA’s plan |
| Q1 2027 | Starship HLS | Large-scale orbital propellant-transfer test |
| Q3 2027 | Artemis III | Crewed Earth-orbit test of Orion with both commercial lander systems |
| Q4 2027 | Starship HLS | Uncrewed lunar demonstration |
| Early 2028 | Artemis IV | First crewed Artemis lunar landing |
| Late 2028 | Artemis V | Second crewed lunar landing |
The schedule separates a planned orbital propellant-transfer test from the uncrewed lunar demonstration later in 2027. Both are Starship HLS milestones; neither is a completed flight.
Artemis IV’s lander is listed as TBD
NASA’s IAC presentation lists the Artemis IV lander as TBD. It places the mission in early 2028 and describes it as the first crewed Artemis lunar landing, but does not assign a provider in that schedule. Artemis V is planned as a second crewed lunar landing in late 2028.
Beyond Artemis V, NASA’s March 2026 fact sheet describes a target of crewed lunar landings every six months as capabilities mature. That is a longer-term goal, rather than a date-by-date mission schedule.
Later deliveries for the lunar surface
NASA says it intends to award SpaceX a mission to deliver the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s pressurized rover to the lunar surface no earlier than fiscal year 2032. NASA also intends to award Blue Origin a mission to deliver a lunar surface habitat no earlier than fiscal year 2033.
