NASA has revised the operating plans for the Blue Origin and SpaceX lunar landers as it prepares to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a long-term presence there. Under the updated Artemis architecture, test versions of both landers will demonstrate rendezvous and docking with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit next year, while the companies continue developing crew and cargo variants for later missions.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is implementing President Trump’s National Space Policy to return U.S. astronauts to the Moon and establish a lunar base in 2028.
“We are implementing President Trump’s National Space Policy to complete the long-awaited return of U.S. astronauts to the moon and establish a lunar base in 2028,” Isaacman said. “We have a proven foundation with SLS and Orion, in addition to the two lunar landers in development with Blue Origin and SpaceX. But NASA is not going to sit back and watch all the pieces come together. That’s not how Apollo succeeded, and that’s not how you accomplish the near-impossible. NASA is revitalized, our core capabilities are rebuilt, our machine shops are operational 24/7, and our experts are in the field attacking the critical path. We are building a super system of bowl-level teams to safely achieve these goals and everything that comes next.”
Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator
Artemis missions will test lunar lander operations in Earth orbit
On the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon, astronauts will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft, powered by the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. During each Artemis mission, a commercial human landing system will coordinate with Orion and carry two crew members to the lunar surface, while the other two remain aboard Orion.
To accelerate development for the 2028 landing, the lander and Orion will no longer rendezvous in a near-straight halo orbit around the Moon. Instead, the vehicles will meet in different orbits selected according to information from each partner’s systems.
Before crewed missions, both companies must conduct uncrewed demonstrations with their human-rated landers. NASA certifies lander systems before crewed flights to help ensure mission safety and success.
SpaceX plans orbital propellant transfers
SpaceX continues to plan an in-space propellant-assembly system that would transport ultra-cold, or cryogenic, liquid propellant into orbit. The company intends to launch multiple versions of Starship into low Earth orbit before launching the Starship Human Landing System, or HLS, from Florida.
In the planned sequence, Starship “tanker” vehicles in low Earth orbit would transfer propellant to Starship “reservoir” vehicles. The base Starship would eventually fuel the Starship lander for its journey to the Moon.
Under the revised operations, Starship HLS would wait for Orion and its crew in Earth orbit. The vehicles would rendezvous and dock there, after which the lander would perform a translunar injection burn to send the combined Orion and lander stack toward low lunar orbit. NASA is working to modify Orion so that Starship can propel the spacecraft toward the Moon.
The lander would carry two astronauts to the lunar surface for several days, then return them to Orion before the spacecraft travels back to Earth. Aggregating propellant in low Earth orbit would give NASA more flexibility in the timing of SLS crew launches. Having Starship perform the translunar injection burn would provide direct access to low lunar orbit.
According to NASA, the approach would take advantage of the Moon’s low orbit, reducing the amount of propellant Starship must collect in space and shortening the time needed for astronauts to leave the lunar surface and reconnect with Orion. SpaceX will demonstrate the propellant-assembly approach during an uncrewed mission.
Blue Origin will use transfer stages for Blue Moon
To accelerate its planned human lunar landing mission in 2028, Blue Origin will postpone propellant transfer and use three transfer stages to send its Blue Moon Mark 2 Alpha lander to the Moon. Based on existing Mark 1 and Mark 2 hardware, the system will operate like a multistage rocket.
The transfer stages will launch into low Earth orbit, followed by the Mark 2 lander. After docking, the stack will travel toward an elliptical polar orbit around the Moon. Each transfer stage will separate as its propellant is depleted.
Compared with the previously planned near-straight halo orbit, the elliptical polar orbit is expected to enable a faster return from the lunar surface to Orion, reduce the propellant requirements of the Blue Moon lander and maximize the performance available from SLS.
This architecture gives SLS and Orion multiple opportunities to launch crews into elliptical polar orbits and dock with the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. The two-person crew would then transfer to the lander and descend to the Moon’s south pole. After completing surface operations, the lander would return the astronauts to Orion for the trip back to Earth.
Blue Origin plans to demonstrate the complete mission profile with an uncrewed lander-transfer-stage mission. The demonstration will incorporate lessons learned from the earlier robotic Mark 1 mission, which supports the agency’s Moon base program.
NASA will select the first 2028 landing provider
NASA will ultimately decide which company will be first to safely deliver astronauts to the Moon’s surface and return them to lunar orbit in 2028, based on each lander’s readiness. A second opportunity for a crewed landing will follow.
NASA aims to conduct two lunar excursions of approximately two hours during the initial surface mission. Astronauts will collect lunar samples and test the functionality of spacesuits supplied by Axiom Space.
Updated contracts add development milestones
Earlier this year, NASA renewed its contracts with Blue Origin and SpaceX for human landing systems and large cargo deliveries to the Moon. The update aligns human landing system requirements with acceleration efforts announced earlier in the year to streamline the Artemis architecture, speed up lunar returns and support a more consistent mission cadence.
Under the original HLS contracts, SpaceX’s Starship human landing system was assigned to the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions, while Blue Origin was scheduled to use its Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system on Artemis V. Under the revised contracts, both providers will participate in the Artemis III demonstration in low Earth orbit, and neither provider is assigned to a specific Artemis lunar landing mission.
“NASA and lunar module providers Blue Origin and SpaceX have been working together to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2028,” said Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s Artemis program manager. “Work has since been underway to realign with partners to support the announced architecture updates, but renewing the contract ensures that NASA and its partners are on the same page regarding requirements and ongoing milestones.”
The revised agreements are intended to give NASA greater insight into lander development, support mission success and improve lunar crew safety. Both companies have added development milestones to reduce risk and improve astronaut safety ahead of a crewed lunar landing.
SpaceX is adding two demonstrations of a Starship lander crew cabin known as Cabin 1. Blue Origin is adding new human-involved testing and hardware-readiness milestones to streamline training development and ground and flight operations.
As part of what NASA describes as a golden age of innovation and exploration, the agency plans to send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions near the Moon’s south pole. The lunar missions are intended to advance scientific discovery, provide economic benefits, establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface and lay the groundwork for NASA’s first crewed mission to Mars.
