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NASA details Artemis III: the Orion crew will dock with Blue Moon MK1 in Earth orbit and open its hatch
NASA said Artemis III in 2027 will rehearse Moon-landing operations in low Earth orbit. Blue Origin's Blue Moon test lander launches first and can wait in orbit up to 30 days; Orion then docks along its side and up to two astronauts enter its cabin. Orion later docks with a SpaceX Starship, ahead of crewed landings from 2028.
- Orion docks next to the lander's crew cabin, and Orion's software flies the joined spacecraft during this phase.
- Inside, the crew evaluates the lander's pressurized cabin and life-support systems, the parts they will depend on during a real landing.
- Blue Moon is the only one of the two landers the crew will enter on this mission; they will not go inside Starship.
- The 30-day loiter lets the lander launch well before SLS and Orion, absorbing delays in the multi-rocket launch sequence.