Artemis test mission added to NASA moon program before astronaut landing

NASA announced a 2027 Artemis docking test in low-Earth orbit to exercise Orion with commercial lunar landers, and said it would cancel an SLS upper-stage upgrade to focus on higher production and flight rate.

NASA announced changes to its Artemis moon program that add a docking test mission in low-Earth orbit before astronauts return to the lunar surface. The orbital mission is planned for 2027 and will exercise Orion's ability to dock with one or both commercial lunar landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Agency officials said the move is intended to reduce risk and speed progress amid delays and international competition. The agency also canceled plans to upgrade the Space Launch System upper stage and said it will concentrate on increasing SLS production and its flight rate. Key developments: - NASA will add a low-Earth-orbit docking test to the Artemis sequence, planned for 2027. - The mission will test Orion docking with one or both lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. - NASA canceled plans to upgrade the SLS upper stage, affecting a roughly $2 billion Boeing contract that had been tied to that upgrade. - The agency said it will focus on increasing SLS production to achieve at least one launch per year and enable yearly lunar missions. - Artemis II is targeting an April launch to carry astronauts around the moon, after recent hydrogen-leak and upper-stage issues that required the rocket to be rolled back for repairs. - NASA now plans the crewed lunar landing as Artemis IV in 2028, with the 2027 docking mission serving as an additional test beforehand. Summary: The changes move a docking rehearsal ahead of a crewed lunar landing to validate spacecraft interfaces and reduce program risk. Officials have traded an SLS upgrade for higher production and a faster launch cadence, with Artemis II's April target and the 2027 docking mission cited as the near-term milestones.