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NASA details the Artemis III lander test: Orion will dock with a Starship in Earth orbit after meeting Blue Moon
NASA laid out Artemis III, a 2027 mission that rehearses Moon-landing operations in low Earth orbit instead of landing. After docking with Blue Origin's test lander, Orion and its crew will dock nose-to-nose with a SpaceX Starship test article. Astronauts will not enter Starship; the goal is to prove docking, shared control and communications before crewed landings from 2028.
- Launch order: Blue Origin's lander first, then Orion on SLS from Kennedy's Pad 39B, then the Starship test article last.
- Orion docks nose-to-nose with the 171-foot Starship; during this phase SpaceX's software, not Orion's, controls the joined spacecraft.
- Teams will check how controllable the docked stack is and whether the two vehicles' communications work together.
- NASA's Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons called it one of the most complex missions NASA has attempted, with launches from several pads.