The Artemis Program Explained: Every Mission and Target Date
NASA reshaped its Moon plan in 2026. Here is what each Artemis mission does, which rockets and landers are involved, and the official targets as of November 2026.
Artemis is NASA’s program to return astronauts to the Moon. Two missions have flown: the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022 and the crewed Artemis II lunar flyby in April 2026. As of November 2026, NASA is targeting Artemis III, a crewed test in Earth orbit, for 2027, and the first Artemis Moon landing, Artemis IV, for 2028.
The plan changed several times in 2026. Artemis III was originally meant to land. NASA turned it into an Earth-orbit rehearsal in early 2026, paused the Gateway lunar station in March, and in October laid out a faster path to a landing by 2028. Dates below are NASA targets, not promises.
What does each Artemis mission do?
Each mission adds one step: test the rocket, test the crew ship, test the landers, then land. The table summarizes the status of each flight as published by NASA.
| Mission | Status | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Artemis I | Flown, November to December 2022 | Uncrewed test of SLS and Orion around the Moon and back |
| Artemis II | Flown, April 1 to 10, 2026 | First crewed Orion flight, a lunar flyby with four astronauts |
| Artemis III | NASA target: 2027 | Crewed test in low Earth orbit, docking Orion with commercial lunar lander hardware |
| Artemis IV | NASA target: 2028 | Planned first crewed landing of the program |
| Artemis V | NASA target: 2028 | Listed on NASA’s schedule as a further crewed lunar mission |
What happened on Artemis I and Artemis II?
Artemis I launched on November 16, 2022, and sent an uncrewed Orion capsule around the Moon before it splashed down in the Pacific on December 11, 2022. The flight certified the Space Launch System rocket and Orion’s heat shield for crewed missions.
Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The crew flew around the Moon and splashed down in the Pacific off San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 10, 2026. NASA says the crew passed the Apollo 13 record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth, and later analysis found Orion’s heat shield performed as expected.
What will Artemis III do now?
Artemis III is now a crewed test flight in low Earth orbit, not a landing. According to NASA’s Artemis III mission page, four astronauts will launch on SLS and Orion from Kennedy Space Center in 2027 to test one or both commercial Human Landing Systems in Earth orbit, including rendezvous and docking. NASA has compared the approach to Apollo 9, which tested the lunar module in Earth orbit before Apollo 10 and 11.
The planned mission lasts about 14 days. NASA has described Blue Origin launching a Blue Moon lander test article for Orion to dock with, followed by a SpaceX Starship lander test article. The crew, announced in 2026, is commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, with Bob Hines as backup.
When will astronauts land on the Moon?
NASA is targeting 2028 for the first Artemis landing, on Artemis IV. At an October 23, 2026, briefing at Kennedy, NASA leaders described the work to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2028. NASA’s public launch schedule lists both Artemis IV and Artemis V for 2028. These are targets: landers, spacesuits and the rocket all still have development and testing ahead, and earlier Artemis dates have slipped.
What are SLS, Orion and the landers?
Artemis uses three main pieces of hardware: a rocket, a crew capsule and a lander.
- Space Launch System (SLS): NASA’s heavy rocket, which launches Orion from pad 39B at Kennedy. NASA decided in 2026 to keep flying a single version close to the original Block 1 instead of building larger Block 1B and Block 2 versions. The White House budget request for fiscal 2027 proposes replacing SLS with commercial launch services after Artemis V; Congress has not settled that.
- Orion: the crew capsule, built by Lockheed Martin, with a service module supplied by the European Space Agency. It carries four astronauts to and from the Moon’s vicinity.
- Human Landing Systems: NASA picked SpaceX’s Starship in 2021 and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon in 2023 to build landers that will carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface. Both are still in development; a March 2026 NASA inspector general report flagged schedule delays and technical challenges.
To see how NASA structures awards like these, read how NASA contracts work.
What happened to the Gateway lunar station?
NASA announced in March 2026 that it would pause development of Gateway, the small station that was meant to orbit the Moon. The agency said it would shift toward building a base on the lunar surface, reuse suitable Gateway hardware and keep working with international partners. NASA has outlined a phased Moon base effort that starts with robotic cargo landers; several of those missions appear on its schedule for late 2026 and 2027.
Bottom line
Artemis I and II have flown, and the Artemis II crew returned safely on April 10, 2026. NASA’s next step is Artemis III, a crewed docking test in Earth orbit targeted for 2027, followed by the first landing attempt on Artemis IV, targeted for 2028. Expect the dates to keep moving as the landers mature; NASA’s launch schedule carries the current targets. To watch the next flight, see how to follow a NASA mission live and our guide to watching a launch in Florida.
FAQ
Did Artemis II land on the Moon?
No. Artemis II was a crewed flyby. Orion looped around the Moon and returned to Earth without entering lunar orbit or landing.
Who is on the Artemis III crew?
NASA named Randy Bresnik as commander, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot, and Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio as mission specialists. Bob Hines is the backup.
Where will Artemis launch from?
All SLS launches lift off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commercial lander test flights launch on their own rockets from other pads.
Why did Artemis III stop being a landing?
NASA describes Artemis III as a risk-reduction flight for Artemis IV, testing lander operations with a crew close to Earth first. A March 2026 NASA inspector general report had also flagged schedule delays for both landers.
