NASA's Artemis III Will Dock Orion With Both SpaceX and Blue Origin Landers in 2027

Artemis III Turns Low Earth Orbit Into a Landing Rehearsal

NASA has turned Artemis III, planned for 2027, into an orbital dress rehearsal for future Moon landings. Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched by the Space Launch System rocket, will rendezvous and dock separately with two commercially built lunar lander prototypes: Blue Origin's Blue Moon test lander and SpaceX's Starship test article based on Version 3. The mission will take place in low Earth orbit rather than around the Moon, and is designed to test early versions of the systems meant to carry crews to the lunar surface in 2028.

Under the plan, Blue Origin's test lander launches first and can remain in orbit for up to 30 days while teams inspect it. After Orion reaches orbit, Blue Moon will dock with the crewed spacecraft, and up to two astronauts in Orion survival suits will enter the lander to check its cabin-like systems. Later, SpaceX's Starship test article will launch and dock nose-to-nose with Orion. The astronauts will not board Starship, but the two vehicles will operate as a single connected spacecraft while teams study how the hardware and software work together.

The exercise also stresses ground operations: NASA and its partners intend to launch three of the world's most powerful rockets within a short period, testing launch pads, control centers, communications and data sharing across several U.S. sites. At the end of the demonstration, the crew returns to Earth aboard Orion and splashes down. NASA says data from Artemis III and upcoming uncrewed demonstrations near the Moon will lower risk before a crewed landing attempt in 2028.

Why the Two-Lander Test Is the Real Mission

Two Providers, Two Very Different Lander Tests

Blue Origin's test article is built on its Mark 2 crew lander architecture and will carry the avionics, flight software and control systems needed for future crewed operations. It will also hold an instrumented mass simulator of a lunar spacesuit to relay cabin conditions, echoing the Moonikin flown on Orion during Artemis I. SpaceX's test article instead uses the in-development Starship Version 3, with a docking system mounted on the nose of the 171-foot spacecraft, and NASA wants to see how Orion and the larger Starship behave as one connected stack.

The split reflects different stages of hardware maturity. Astronauts will enter Blue Moon, but they will remain inside Orion for the Starship docking, a sign that SpaceX's test article is being treated more as an integrated vehicle test than as a crew-inhabited demonstration.

The Real Payload Is Data for the Dual-Launch Campaign

The most important objective is validating the dual-launch sequence NASA will use on later lunar missions: place the lander in orbit first, then have it wait for Orion. Blue Moon's 30-day loiter capability is central to that architecture. Keeping the test in low Earth orbit instead of near the Moon gives all three rockets more launch windows and lets each reach its target altitude in a single launch, according to NASA.

The two docking phases also divide command responsibilities. Orion's software will control the combined Orion-Blue Moon stack, while the Starship test article will take control during the second phase. That explicitly tests whether hardware and software from different providers can share control of one spacecraft. NASA says ground and flight crews must verify both test articles are safe to approach before any docking with the crewed Orion.

Where the Schedule Still Has Risk

Both lander types are still maturing. SpaceX qualified its docking capability in 2023; Blue Origin completed developmental ground tests of its pressurized docking system earlier in 2026. NASA's readiness reviews will check performance requirements and hazard controls before Orion approaches either prototype. Any slip in Starship Version 3 or Blue Moon development, or in the three-rocket launch sequence, would push against the stated 2028 crewed landing goal. For now, the orbital rehearsal is a risk-reduction step, not the landing itself.

Signals to Track Before Orion Docks With Blue Moon and Starship

For aerospace contractors and program watchers, the useful markers between now and launch are specific:

• Treat NASA's pre-flight readiness reviews, which will assess performance requirements and hazard controls for both test articles, as the gate that decides whether Artemis III flies as planned in 2027.
• Benchmark the two docking timelines: Blue Origin's ground tests earlier in 2026 and SpaceX's 2023 docking qualification. Further milestones or slips in either company's docking system are direct schedule signals for the 2027 mission.
• Track whether Blue Moon proves its 30-day on-orbit loiter capability; success here validates the lander-waits-for-Orion sequence that future crewed landing missions will depend on.
• For contractors, note that the dual-provider structure keeps lunar lander work deliberately split between Starship HLS and Blue Moon Mark 2, meaning neither company is NASA's sole path to the surface.