Skip to content
Ars Technica·

🚀NASA's Artemis Plan Aims for Lunar Landing by 2028

NASA's Artemis Plan: 2028 Moon Landing

TL;DR

NASA's Artemis program aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028, with SpaceX and Blue Origin offering competing plans. SpaceX's plan involves refueling in Earth orbit, while Blue Origin's plan avoids refueling between vehicles. Orion will dock with the lunar lander in high-Earth orbit before heading to the Moon.

NASA's Artemis program plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2028. SpaceX's plan involves refueling a Starship lunar lander in low-Earth orbit before docking with Orion in high-Earth orbit. Blue Origin's plan avoids refueling between vehicles, instead launching three transfer stages to low-Earth orbit to push the stack to the Moon. NASA is working to have the option of docking with Orion in low-lunar orbit, which would significantly reduce propellant needs for the Blue Moon lander. The Artemis program is working to help lunar lander companies in any way they can, with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noting the possibility of 6 to 8 launches proffered by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

NASA's Artemis Plan Aims for Lunar Landing by 2028 — Ars Technica

Key Points

1

NASA's Artemis program plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2028.

2

SpaceX's plan involves refueling a Starship lunar lander in low-Earth orbit before docking with Orion in high-Earth orbit.

3

Blue Origin's plan avoids refueling between vehicles, instead launching three transfer stages to low-Earth orbit to push the stack to the Moon.

4

NASA is working to have the option of docking with Orion in low-lunar orbit, which would significantly reduce propellant needs for the Blue Moon lander.

5

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman notes the possibility of 6 to 8 launches proffered by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

Why It Matters

NASA's Artemis program plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2028, with SpaceX and Blue Origin offering competing plans. If you're involved in space exploration, this timeline and the competing plans from SpaceX and Blue Origin will impact your decision-making. The Artemis program's goal of helping lunar lander companies will also influence the development of lunar missions.

NASAArtemisSpaceXBlue OriginMoon Landing

Comments

Subscribe to join the conversation...

Be the first to comment

Enjoyed this article?

Get it daily. 7am. Free. Reads in 5 minutes.

Join 3,567 builders reading daily.

Also get