Artemis III planning advances while Orion is still flying

NASA is evaluating key design choices for Artemis III while Artemis II is returning to Earth; officials are debating whether Artemis III should rendezvous in low-Earth orbit or high-Earth orbit and which human landing systems will be involved.

NASA's Artemis II mission is scheduled to splash down Friday evening in the Pacific off San Diego, and the agency is already moving toward decisions on an interim mission called Artemis III. Artemis III was added to the timeline to fly in Earth orbit before planned lunar landings and to reduce risk for the subsequent landing mission. Agency leaders held a senior-level mission design discussion and are focusing on which orbit to use and which human landing systems Orion should rendezvous with. Those choices will depend on the readiness and launch cadence of commercial partners. Key points: - Artemis II is due to return to Earth Friday with a splashdown off San Diego. - Artemis III is planned as an Earth-orbit mission intended to test rendezvous with one or both human landing systems before lunar landings. - NASA is debating a low-Earth orbit (LEO) versus a high-Earth orbit (HEO) for Artemis III; LEO could avoid using the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), while HEO would better mimic lunar thermal conditions and test Orion's modified heat shield. - Orion would launch on an SLS rocket and rendezvous in orbit, reportedly with four astronauts aboard. - NASA prefers testing with both SpaceX’s Starship upper stage and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander, but that depends on vendor readiness and launch cadence; officials cited upcoming launches "in the next month or less" and described Starship V3 as in final testing and Blue Moon Mk. 1 as wrapping up vacuum-chamber testing. Summary: The agency is balancing technical trade-offs — orbit choice affects propulsion staging and how closely conditions will match lunar flight, and the choice of human landing systems will affect what is learned before a landing attempt. Final mission design has not been locked in and, according to NASA officials, will depend on the readiness and launch cadence of commercial partners; next steps are under review by agency leadership.