NASA may modify Artemis III to dock Starship and Orion in low Earth orbit

While NASA is unlikely to speak publicly about the matter anytime soon, the space agency is privately considering modifications to its Artemis program to put astronauts on the lunar surface later this decade.

Multiple sources confirmed that NASA is studying alternatives to its two-astronaut landing on the moon, nominally scheduled for September 2026, due to concerns about hardware preparation and mission complexity.

Under one option, the astronauts would be launched into low-Earth orbit inside the Orion spacecraft, where they would rendezvous with SpaceX’s separately launched Starship spacecraft. On this mission, similar to Apollo 9, the predecessor to the Apollo 11 moon landing, the crew will verify the docking capabilities of Orion and the Starship and test habitability within the Starship. The crew will then return to Earth. Another option NASA is considering is that the crew would launch at Orion, fly to a small space station near the moon, known as the Lunar Gateway, and then return to Earth.

To discuss these options, Ars asked to speak with Catherine Koerner, NASA’s deputy associate administrator who oversees the development of Exploration Systems. Instead, the space agency issued a noncommittal statement.

The statement read: “NASA continues its efforts to conduct a crewed test flight of Artemis II in September 2025 and a crewed test flight of Artemis III in September 2026 to land astronauts. Near the lunar south pole. “The agency assesses the progress and status of elements on a daily basis and uses this data to make decisions at the right time for each mission as part of prudent planning and mission management. If a particular hardware element Unable to support the mission as planned or as scheduled, NASA will evaluate the readiness of available hardware to make these decisions with crew safety as the top priority.

unrealistic timetable

The space agency is optimistic about the Artemis 2 date, but it may be feasible if NASA can solve the problem with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. However, a September 2026 moon landing seems completely unrealistic. Artemis III’s biggest obstacle is the lack of the lander SpaceX is developing through its Starship program and the spacesuit Axiom Space will use to reach the lunar surface. It’s unclear when the landers or spacesuits, which NASA began funding only in the past two or three years, will be ready.

There are also concerns about the complexity of Artemis 3. It will require many previously untested steps, including rendezvous and docking of the Orion starship in lunar orbit; humans flying through space aboard the starship; the starship descending to the surface and back to dock with Orion; and more. Mission planners would feel more reassured if they could, in NASA’s words, “reduce the risk” to Artemis 3 by verifying some of these delicate operations before the moon landing mission.

That’s why NASA asked SpaceX to consider an Orion mission to rendezvous with a Starship vehicle in orbit around Earth. Such a mission, whether called Artemis IIS or Artemis III, would solve many problems for the space agency and appears to be the current preferred option. Crucially, it will verify the ability of two spacecraft to dock in an environment that will make it easier for astronauts to return home safely if something goes wrong. It will also verify the astronauts’ ability to populate the starship and perform some ascent and descent maneuvers.