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"China could go to the lunar surface in 3 years," NASA admits about the race to return to the Moon. The U.S. space agency is preparing the Artemis III mission for 2027. Despite technological advances, it believes that competition between powers "will be much closer." NASA has indicated that it is currently "fully immersed in a new space race" and has warned that the race to return to the Moon will be "close." "China will soon have reusable rockets, it has spacecraft, landers and infrastructure for a dual-launch architecture, with which to put its astronauts on the lunar surface in the next three years," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during the presentation of the latest advances of the Artemis mission. Despite decades of "extraordinary" technological advances, the head of the U.S. space agency warned that the race to return to the Moon "will be much closer than it ever should have been." Before astronauts return to the lunar surface, NASA will carry out one of the "most ambitious and complex" test missions in the agency's history. Thus, with its launch planned for 2027, Artemis III will send NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, along with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, aboard the Orion spacecraft to low Earth orbit to carry out a series of demonstrations with test versions of the crewed landing systems being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. During the mission, which will last 14 days, crews and flight controllers will practice rendezvous, docking, habitability and operational procedures that will be essential when Artemis astronauts begin landing near the South Pole of the Moon in 2028. The mission is designed to reduce risk, validate hardware and gain operational experience before NASA attempts a crewed landing. NASA will launch three spacecraft on three different rockets and test their joint operation, something it has never attempted before. "Every lesson we learn here brings us closer to the 2028 landing," the agency said. Blue Origin lunar lander. Previous Artemis missions used only NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. Artemis III will include three independent spacecraft that will launch on three different heavy-lift rockets over a relatively short period of time. The mission begins with Blue Origin launching a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into a circular low Earth orbit. The spacecraft can remain in orbit for up to 30 days, providing schedule flexibility. After launch, Orion will initially enter an elliptical Earth orbit. It will use its service module to perform a series of maneuvers that will allow it to transition to a circular orbit for thermal stabilization, before gradually preparing for the rendezvous with the Blue Moon lander. Since each spacecraft operates in slightly different orbital regimes, optimized for its mission requirements, Artemis III requires a carefully choreographed sequence of orbital maneuvers and rendezvous operations throughout the flight. The first days of flight. During the first two flight days, the crew will check Orion's systems, prepare for proximity operations and gradually position itself for the mission's first major objective: rendezvous and docking with the Blue Moon test vehicle. Once docked, the astronauts will spend approximately two days conducting evaluations aboard the Blue Moon test module. Crew members will open the hatch and enter the spacecraft, allowing them to assess firsthand the cabin environment, controls and life support systems. The teams will verify the spacecraft's ability to maintain adequate atmosphere and pressure. By the time the Orion capsule undocks, NASA will have completed its first evaluation of a crewed commercial lunar lander, collecting data on spacecraft systems, crew operations and spacecraft interoperability, something that is not possible on the ground. Starship docking demonstration. After completing operations with the Blue Origin lander, Orion will undock and reposition itself to support the next phase of the mission: a second rendezvous operation. SpaceX will launch a test prototype of Starship version 3 from Florida. Since Starship is designed for a much shorter orbital lifespan than the Blue Origin lander, the launch will take place later in the mission, allowing NASA to efficiently coordinate the two docking demonstrations. Starship will enter a low orbit optimized for communications coverage and will carry an additional docking system mounted on its forward end. The Orion capsule will dock with the spacecraft during a test estimated to last up to two hours. The crew will not enter Starship during this test. Orion will connect to a port next to the Blue Moon crew cabin, and then align its forward docking system with the one on Starship's nose. Testing both approaches during the same mission gives NASA the opportunity to evaluate different operational concepts while also collecting valuable engineering data. Once the Starship demonstration is complete, Orion and its crew will have up to five additional days in orbit before beginning preparations for the journey home. NASA plans to use this time to complete various test objectives that will serve as a basis for future Artemis missions, including additional evaluations of the Orion Crew Survival System suits, docking sensor tests, acoustic and thermal measurements, human factors assessments and a series of scientific and technological demonstrations. Studies to be conducted during the mission. The crew will also conduct a proof-of-concept study to examine how astronauts could perform health-related assessments when they cannot communicate directly with the mission control center, an important capability for future lunar surface expeditions and other missions farther from Earth. NASA also plans to conduct a cell biology experiment during the mission, while researchers will use the flight to test concepts for returning lunar samples to Earth. Teams will evaluate how future samples could be transported, received and transferred to curation facilities after landing, while conducting assessments of the Orion environment to better understand potential contamination considerations for future lunar missions. The mission will also include observations of Earth and the Sun that will help astronauts continue developing crucial observation skills, leveraging the spacecraft's unique orbital perspective. In addition, plant seeds will be carried aboard Orion, providing opportunities for scientific study and educational outreach after the mission. When ready, Orion will begin the return phase and the crew will configure the cabin for reentry and splashdown, which will take place in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA and U.S. Navy personnel will recover the Orion spacecraft and its crew. Follow topics According to the criteria of Work type: Suggested content. GEC content

When will SpaceX and Blue Origin fly to the moon? NASA reveals lunar lander timelines (and an Artemis III update). October 22, 2026 NASA has revealed new details about its plans to return astronauts to the surface of the moon, outlining a series of upcoming milestones for SpaceX and Blue Origin as both companies race to ready their lunar landers for the agency's Artemis program. During an Oct. 5 presentation at the Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Antalya, Türkiye, Steve Creech, acting manager of NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) Program, laid out development timelines for both spacecraft, with key demonstrations planned through early 2028 that include orbital refueling and uncrewed lunar landing tests to qualify the vehicles to fly astronauts to the surface of the moon. A more pressing deadline, however, is NASA's Artemis III mission, which is targeted for the third quarter (Q3) of 2027. Artemis III will launch four astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will rendezvous and dock with test versions of both companies' landers for interoperability checkouts. Those demonstrations will help inform NASA's determination about which lander the agency will choose to carry astronauts to the moon's surface on Artemis IV, targeted for early 2028. SpaceX and Blue Origin were both awarded NASA contracts to develop HLS vehicles - Starship and Blue Moon, respectively - and have spent the past several years refining their respective lunar lander designs and dealing with various delays along the way. In the face of those delays, and in an effort to better structure its mission progression for success, NASA overhauled its Artemis program architecture in February to maintain its goal of landing astronauts on the moon by the end of 2028 and establish a more regular cadence of uncrewed landings in the meantime. As part of that shakeup, Artemis III, previously the program's first crewed lunar landing mission, was moved up a year and repurposed for the lunar lander vehicle tests the agency is preparing to fly to LEO next year. The program's first moon landing remains scheduled for 2028, but was shifted to the manifest for Artemis IV. Between now and then, both SpaceX and Blue Origin have more than a dozen test demonstrations and vehicle milestones to achieve, including success during Artemis III and flights afterward. This will all lead up to a key decision NASA must make: Which vehicle will carry out the first crewed landing on the surface of the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972? Starship reached for the first time on its most recent test flight, which occurred on Sept. 28 from SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas. NASA lists several other important goals for the vehicle to achieve in 2026, including (in the order listed during the IAC presentation) the first return and catch of the rocket's upgraded Version 3 (V3) booster at its launch pad; the first-ever return and catch of a Ship upper stage; the first Starship launch from one of SpaceX's launch pads still under construction on Florida's Space Coast; and, possibly, the first V3 booster reflight. NASA also expects SpaceX to complete the initial build of the crew cabin for its lunar lander Starship variant. SpaceX released renders of Starship's interior last year, as well as images of the test elevator astronauts are using to train for Starship egress on the lunar surface, but little else has been made public about the progress the company has made on the cabin's design. Should the cabin's initial build wrap up by the end of the year, as NASA's presentation suggested, SpaceX will use Q1 2027 to complete integration of the systems that Starship will need to communicate with Orion during Artemis III, and deliver a cabin simulator for astronauts to train on leading up to the mission. SpaceX plans to continue Starship test flights through Q2 of next year, complete a landing leg demonstration and begin crew cabin airlock tests. Blue Origin's lunar lander mockup is ready for NASA Artemis astronaut training For Artemis III, SpaceX plans to fly one of its existing V3 Starship upper stages, with some slight modifications. Starship and Orion will dock as part of Artemis III but the SpaceX vehicle won't be equipped with a crew cabin for the mission's astronauts to enter. Between the end of this year and the beginning of the next, SpaceX is expected to complete the addition of a docking system and nosecone cover to the Artemis III Starship vehicle, which, NASA documents suggest, has already completed its mechanical fit checks. Other notches on SpaceX's checklist leading up to Artemis III include the first propellant transfer demonstration with Starship in orbit. As the first-ever launch vehicle and spacecraft designed for full reusability, Starship's fuel constraints require that its tanks be topped off in order to fly beyond LEO. For a moon landing mission, this could mean up to a dozen launches of SpaceX's Starship "tanker" spacecraft to an orbiting fuel depot, which the moon-bound Starship will visit. To pull that off, though, SpaceX has to show it can successfully transfer those cryogenic fuels on orbit, and also store them effectively enough to prevent too much boil-off. Starship won't require any refueling flights to complete its objectives for Artemis III, but SpaceX is expected to launch its first Starship tanker vehicle within a few months of that mission as it gears up for the Artemis IV moon landing mission. To that end, a launch of an uncrewed Starship lunar lander variant is targeted sometime toward the end of Q3/beginning of Q4, with an uncrewed lunar landing mission carried out before the end of 2027. Blue Origin, meanwhile, has its own set of milestones to meet as it develops its Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2) lander - a 52-foot-tall (16 meters) spacecraft powered by three BE-7 engines. Unlike the bare-bones V3 Starship that SpaceX will launch on Artemis III, Blue Origin plans to fly a completed test vehicle, incorporating the crew cabin, partial life-support, flight software and other systems needed to allow astronauts to enter the lander from Orion during their time docked in LEO. Astronauts will be able to enter Blue Moon from Orion to get a feel for the lander in zero-g and test some of its systems. NASA's timeline shows the company working to complete a series of manufacturing and testing milestones in the last few months of 2026, including continued BE-7 testing and qualification of Blue Moon's BT-7 maneuvering thrusters. The company also faces its Artemis III interim design review and a critical design review for an upcoming landing demonstration mission in 2028. Blue Origin is also working to restore its pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex-36 (LC-36) to operation and return its New Glenn rocket to flight, following an explosion of the rocket in May that caused extensive damage to the facility. NASA's presentation places that milestone in Q4 2026, a timeline the company has also been very vocal about maintaining. A recent Reuters report, however, suggests that may not happen until early 2027. By early 2027, the company expects to complete the spacecraft's communications systems and finalize its flight software, with assembly, integration and testing continuing into Q2. Q1 2027 is also when Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK1 lander (a smaller, uncrewed version of its MK2 successor) will launch to the lunar surface as a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program of robotic moon missions. During Q2 2027, as the Artemis III mission approaches, Blue Origin is expected to complete integration of its test lander with New Glenn and conclude qualification of its BE-7 engine. Throughout next year, the company plans to continue construction and refurbishments at its launch facilities and hopes to have a new launch pad ready to support the upgraded, more powerful New Glenn 9x4 rocket l by the end of Q3. The first flight of that rocket variant is scheduled for Q4 2027, alongside a second MK1 lunar mission and the launch of an uncrewed MK2 demonstration lander. That spacecraft is expected to attempt its own uncrewed lunar landing in Q1 2028, around the same time Blue Origin has scheduled a third MK1 flight. Like SpaceX, Blue Origin will need to demonstrate that its lander can safely reach the moon's surface,operate there and return to lunar orbit before NASA clears it to carry astronauts on a future Artemis mission. NASA's overall timeline remains the same as it has been since the February revamp, with Artemis III expected to launch in mid-2027, followed by a crewed lunar landing on Artemis IV in 2028, and possibly another on Artemis V that same year. There may be changes on the horizon, though. NASA will host a press conference on Friday (Oct. 23) with Administrator Jared Isaacman and Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, as well as Artemis program director Jeremy Parsons. During the event, which you'll be able to watch here at Space.com, they will discuss the status of the upcoming moon missions and an "Artemis acceleration." SpaceX and Blue Origin still face tight schedules to complete their respective uncrewed landing demonstrations before Artemis IV. With SpaceX targeting Q4 2027 and Blue Origin Q1 2028, both are pushing the margins against NASA's hopes to return astronauts to the lunar surface that same year. Which company ultimately gets the green light for that first landing mission will depend on the progress each makes between now and then, and whether their landers can demonstrate the readiness that NASA requires to safely carry astronauts to the surface of the moon and back again.