Artemis III

Artemis III is an upcoming crewed spaceflight mission of the NASA-led Artemis program. Planned for 2027, the mission is designed as a demonstration flight in low Earth orbit rather than a lunar landing. Four astronauts will launch aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of commercial Human Landing System spacecraft being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA describes Artemis III as a risk-reduction mission intended to support Artemis IV, planned as the first crewed lunar landing of the Artemis program. Prior to February 2026, Artemis III had the role of Artemis IV.