Race to the Moon · United States
The only nation to have landed people on the Moon (six landings, 1969–72) flew a crew around it again in April 2026. In February 2026 NASA made Artemis III an Earth-orbit docking test and moved the first landing since 1972 to Artemis IV; in March it paused Gateway and announced a south-pole Moon Base.
Artemis III hardware status (SLS, Orion and the two lander pathfinders) and the latest Artemis news are on the Artemis tracker.
Data reviewed against sources as of · Tracker method v1.0.5 · All dates UTC unless a local time is shown
2028 for Artemis IV
Earlier reading used as a sensitivity: The March 2026 reading, "Early 2028" (NASA ESDMD, 3 Mar 2026; NASA Artemis IV page, last updated 16 Mar 2026; GAO), superseded by NASA's 23 Oct 2026 update, which says "2028"
Sources: NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 16 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
EO 14369: "establishing initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030". NASA’s Moon Base phase plan starts long-duration human presence in 2033 or later. No official date for continuous occupation.
Sources: The White House (Executive Order 14369) (18 Dec 2025) · SpaceQ (24 Mar 2026)
| Rung | Level |
|---|---|
| L1 Landing launchers reach orbit | Flown, short (½) |
| L2 Crew vehicle: uncrewed lunar round trip | Done (1) |
| L3 Crew beyond low Earth orbit | Done (1) |
| L4 Crew lander flown in space | Flown, short (½) |
| L5 Critical in-space operations | Flown, short (½) |
| L6 Uncrewed landing by the crew lander | Planned (0) |
| L7 Lunar surface suit flown | Planned (0) |
| L8 Crewed landing | Planned (0) |
| Rung | Level |
|---|---|
| P1 South-polar robotic landing | Flown, short (½) |
| P2 Dedicated lunar relay | Planned (0) |
| P3 ISRU demonstrated on the Moon | Flown, short (½) |
| P4 Power through the lunar night | Planned (0) |
| P5 Crew-capable surface habitat | Planned (0) |
| P6 Cadence | Planned (0) |
| P7 30-day crewed stay | Planned (0) |
| P8 Continuous presence, one year | Planned (0) |
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · SpaceX on X (28 Sep 2026)
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (release 26-048) (9 Jun 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (27 Apr 2026)
Sources: NASA (20 Oct 2026) · Voyager Technologies (SEC filing) (2 Nov 2026) · The Space Review (26 Oct 2026) · NASA (updated 14 Oct 2026)
Sources: Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · Firefly Aerospace (read 24 Sep 2026)
Artemis IV, dated 2028. Four crew; two descend near the lunar south pole. Artemis III, dated 2027 (NASA, 23 Oct 2026: "Launching in 2027"; the Administrator said "summer 2027" the same day), is a crewed docking test with lander pathfinders in Earth orbit, not a landing.
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 16 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
No. A crewed test in low Earth orbit: Orion rendezvous and docking with a Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system test article and a Starship Version 3 test article (NASA, 23 Oct 2026). Crew: Bresnik, Parmitano (ESA), Douglas, Rubio. Hardware stacking is under way. NASA, 23 Oct 2026: "Launching in 2027". At that day’s briefing the Administrator spoke of a "year-end tanking test and summer 2027 Artemis III launch", and a chart shown there put the mission between May and September (Aerospace America). Earlier wording: "mid-2027" (NASA); "a late 2027 rendezvous" (the Administrator to Congress, 27 Apr 2026). Date: 2027 (NASA, 23 Oct 2026: "Launching in 2027"; the Administrator said "summer 2027" the same day).
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (13 May 2026) · NASA (release 26-048) (9 Jun 2026) · NASA (Artemis III news and updates) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASASpaceflight (7 Sep 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (27 Apr 2026) · NASA Watch (reproducing the Administrator’s internal note of 20 Sep 2026) (21 Sep 2026, secondary)
The last crew left the lunar surface on 14 Dec 1972 (Apollo 17). Artemis II flew four astronauts around the Moon, launching on 1 Apr 2026. The next planned landings are Artemis IV, dated 2028, and China’s first crewed landing, dated before 2030 (2030年前).
Sources: NASA (20 Apr 2026) · NASA (15 Oct 2026) · NASA (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (23 Oct 2026) · China Manned Space Agency (CMSE site) (23 May 2026)
Date:
Uncrewed Orion on the first SLS, 16 Nov – 11 Dec 2022 (25 d 10 h 53 min). Heat-shield char loss led to a modified entry for Artemis II.
Sources: NASA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Date:
First crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since 1972: launched 1 Apr 2026 22:35 UTC, flew around the Moon on 6 Apr and splashed down 10 Apr 8:07 pm EDT (11 Apr 00:07 UTC). Set the human distance record, 252,756 miles.
Sources: NASA (20 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (10 Apr 2026)
Date:
No longer a landing. A crewed test in low Earth orbit: Orion rendezvous and docking with a Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system test article and a Starship Version 3 test article (NASA, 23 Oct 2026). Crew: Bresnik, Parmitano (ESA), Douglas, Rubio. Hardware stacking is under way. NASA, 23 Oct 2026: "Launching in 2027". At that day’s briefing the Administrator spoke of a "year-end tanking test and summer 2027 Artemis III launch", and a chart shown there put the mission between May and September (Aerospace America). Earlier wording: "mid-2027" (NASA); "a late 2027 rendezvous" (the Administrator to Congress, 27 Apr 2026).
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (13 May 2026) · NASA (release 26-048) (9 Jun 2026) · NASA (Artemis III news and updates) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASASpaceflight (7 Sep 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (27 Apr 2026) · NASA Watch (reproducing the Administrator’s internal note of 20 Sep 2026) (21 Sep 2026, secondary)
Date:
The first crewed landing since Apollo 17, near the south pole. Four crew; two descend. NASA has not designated the lander: "lander readiness will determine which provider".
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 16 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
Date:
Second landing and the start of base-building; then "at least one surface landing every year". At Ignition NASA described crewed missions about every six months after Artemis IV and V (an aspiration).
Sources: NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · The Planetary Society (24 Mar 2026)
SLS sent Orion toward the Moon on Artemis I; on Artemis II it put Orion in a high Earth orbit and Orion’s own engine fired the trans-lunar injection. NASA standardised SLS in February 2026 and dropped the Exploration Upper Stage and Mobile Launcher 2. A ULA Centaur V upper stage was selected through a sole-source justification; GAO (July 2026): a dummy upper stage on Artemis III, the last ICPS on Artemis IV, Centaur V after that. Orion accounts for about 75% of the cumulative overruns in NASA’s major-project portfolio (GAO).
Sources: NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026)
Contracted for the (former) Artemis III and IV landings (about $4.3 billion potential, up 6% since). The architecture needs "more than 10 Starship tankers" per landing (OIG), a tanker every 6 days, and a 12–24-day pad turnaround not yet demonstrated. As of 28 Sep 2026 Starship has flown 14 integrated flight tests: the first 13 were suborbital, and Flight 14 (28 Sep 2026), carrying Starlink satellites, was the first to reach orbit, SpaceX reports. No flight has yet used the lander or tanker configuration. Ship-to-ship propellant transfer, planned for March 2026, has not been attempted; GAO (July 2026) said 2026, and NASA and SpaceX now say early 2027.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · Spaceflight Now (10 Mar 2026) · Space.com (updated 17 Sep 2026) · SpaceX on X (28 Sep 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary) · SpacePolicyOnline (22 Oct 2026) · Ars Technica (23 Oct 2026) · CBS News (23 Oct 2026)
Mk2 crew lander: about $3.1 billion crew-lander portion (OIG); critical design review slipping to July 2026 and an uncrewed demo projected for February 2029 before the restructure. A "Blue Moon Mark 2 HLS pathfinder" docks with Orion on Artemis III. The MK1 cargo lander (Moon Base I) waits on New Glenn, which exploded on its pad in May 2026 (a BE-4 main oxygen valve, per Blue Origin); NASA now expects it in the first part of 2027.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · NASA (13 May 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · Spaceflight Now (29 May 2026) · Spaceflight Now (6 Aug 2026)
GAO (July 2026): key decision point deferred and the suit "does not meet several sizing requirements"; a combined design review is planned for fall 2026. OIG: demonstrations "may not occur until 2031" if delays follow the historical average. On Artemis III NASA plans to fly "a stand-in version of a suit" on the Blue Origin lander (GAO), not a flight suit.
Sources: U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · SpacePolicyOnline (20 Apr 2026) · CNN (23 Oct 2026) · NASASpaceflight (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (23 Oct 2026) · Space Explored (22 Sep 2026) · NASA Watch (reproducing the Administrator’s internal note of 20 Sep 2026) (21 Sep 2026, secondary)
Phase 1 (now–2028 as presented in March; NASA’s Moon Base manager said on 15 Sep 2026 that it "extends to 2029"): robotic landings, lunar terrain vehicles, the Artemis IV landing. Phase 2 (2029–2032): power, communications, JAXA pressurised rover. Phase 3 (2033 and beyond): long-duration presence with ASI multi-purpose habitats and a CSA utility vehicle. About $20 billion over seven years, as presented (no NASA primary for the figure). Programme executive: Carlos García-Galán.
Sources: SpaceQ (24 Mar 2026) · The Planetary Society (24 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 15 May 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026)
Date:
Astrolab CLV-1 ($219M) and Lunar Outpost Pegasus ($220M), delivered by Blue Origin landers. Intuitive Machines was not selected. Four MoonFall scouting drones (designed by NASA JPL; Firefly builds the transfer spacecraft) are targeted to launch in 2028.
Sources: NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026) · SpacePolicyOnline (26 May 2026) · Astrolab (26 May 2026)
Date: Ready for launch by Q1 FY2030
At least 100 kWe, closed Brayton cycle; ready to launch by Q1 FY2030 (directive) and "ready for launch by 2030" (EO 14369). NASA now calls it Lunar Reactor-1 and says it "will land on the lunar surface in 2030". NASA–DOE MOU January 2026. No prime vendor award found as of September 2026. The separate Space Reactor-1 Freedom is a nuclear-electric propulsion demonstrator on a Mars-flyby mission targeted before the end of 2028; it is not the surface reactor.
Sources: NASA (Acting Administrator directive) (4 Aug 2025) · The White House (Executive Order 14369) (18 Dec 2025) · U.S. Department of Energy (13 Jan 2026) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026) · The Planetary Society (24 Mar 2026)
Date:
Paused by NASA "in its current form"; funding redirection pending in Congress
NASA paused Gateway on 24 Mar 2026 and plans to "repurpose applicable Gateway hardware". Congress appropriated $2.6 billion for it in July 2025; the FY2027 request proposes redirecting it. ESA’s I-Hab continues to its critical design review while repurposing is assessed; greater clarity on ESA’s role "could come in December" 2026 at an interim ministerial meeting. GAO: the Power and Propulsion Element "may be repurposed for a future nuclear electric propulsion demonstration".
Sources: U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · The Planetary Society (24 Mar 2026) · SpacePolicyOnline (3 Apr 2026) · European Spaceflight (23 Jun 2026)
Four CLPS landers launched 2024–25: Peregrine (failed), IM-1 (landed tilted), Blue Ghost 1 (full success), IM-2 (landed on its side). None has landed in 2026. Next: Griffin-1 (NET November 2026), Blue Moon MK1 and IM-3 (first part of 2027), Blue Ghost 2 (later in 2027), Blue Ghost 3 (2028) and 4 (2029). NASA and Draper ended task order CP-12 in July 2026.
Sources: NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · NASA (2 Mar 2025) · NASA (release 25-025) (7 Mar 2025) · NASA (19 Jan 2024) · NASA (18 Dec 2024) · NASA (29 Jul 2025) · ispace (15 Jul 2026)
No US lunar relay is operating. ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder relay rides on Blue Ghost 2 (later in 2027). CAPSTONE and LRO are not relays.
Sources: Firefly Aerospace (read 24 Sep 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
FY2025 enacted $24.8 billion; FY2026 enacted $24.4 billion; FY2027 request $18.8 billion (−23%) including $8.5 billion for Artemis. FY2027 runs on a continuing resolution to 11 Dec 2026.
Sources: SpacePolicyOnline (3 Apr 2026) · Computing Research Association (3 Sep 2026)
SpaceX Starship HLS contract (Option A)
Awarded on 16 Apr 2021 (NASA: "total award value is $2.89 billion"). Blue Origin and Dynetics protested to the GAO, which denied both protests on 30 Jul 2021; Blue Origin then sued in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which dismissed the case on 4 Nov 2021. The protests and the lawsuit held up work until then, and the OIG says they pushed the Option A delivery date back 6 months, from December 2024 to June 2025. The OIG puts the potential value at about $3 billion. Covered an uncrewed demo and the (former) Artemis III landing.
Sources: NASA (16 Apr 2021) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · SpaceNews (30 Jul 2021) · Space.com (4 Nov 2021)
Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · NASA (Jul 2026)
Sources: NASA Science (blog) (3 Aug 2023) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
SpaceX HLS Option B exercised
A sustaining lander for the (former) Artemis IV, potential value about $1 billion (OIG).
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
CAPSTONE: Near-rectilinear halo orbit insertion burn completed (13 Nov US Eastern)
Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · NASA (Jul 2026)
Artemis I (Orion, uncrewed) launched
Sources: NASA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
LunaH-Map (Artemis I cubesat) launched
Sources: NASA Science (blog) (3 Aug 2023) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
Lunar IceCube (Artemis I cubesat) launched
Sources: NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
LunIR (Artemis I cubesat) launched
Sources: NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
Artemis I (Orion, uncrewed): Lunar flyby
Sources: NASA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Artemis I (Orion, uncrewed): Splashdown after 25 d 10 h 53 min
Sources: NASA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Sources: NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
LunaH-Map (Artemis I cubesat): Attempts to free the valve given up; operations ceased
Sources: NASA Science (blog) (3 Aug 2023) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
Blue Origin selected for a second crew lander (Blue Moon Mk2)
About $3.1 billion for the crew-lander portion, excluding cargo-lander line items (OIG, March 2026).
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Lunar Flashlight: NASA ended the mission; it never reached lunar orbit
Sources: NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025)
Peregrine Mission One launched
Sources: NASA (19 Jan 2024) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
Peregrine Mission One: Propellant leak; controlled re-entry, never landed
Sources: NASA (19 Jan 2024) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
Sources: NASA (Feb 2024) · NASA APOD (24 Feb 2024) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
IM-1 Odysseus: Landed near Malapert A in the south polar region and came to rest tilted
Sources: NASA (Feb 2024) · NASA APOD (24 Feb 2024) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
Starship Flight 3: propellant moved between two tanks inside one ship
NASA OIG: "between two tanks within the Starship vehicle". Ship-to-ship transfer (what the HLS architecture needs) has not been attempted.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
VIPER rover cancelled
Conditionally revived in September 2025
Sources: NASA (2 Mar 2025) · NASA (18 Mar 2025) · Firefly Aerospace (read 24 Sep 2026) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
IM-2 Athena (+ PRIME-1, Grace, MAPP, Yaoki) launched
Sources: NASA (release 25-025) (7 Mar 2025) · LROC team (Arizona State University, NASA LRO) (Mar 2025) · NASA (updated 29 Apr 2025)
Lunar Trailblazer: Contact lost the day after launch (solar arrays not oriented to the Sun)
Sources: NASA JPL (4 Aug 2025)
Sources: NASA JPL (4 Aug 2025)
Blue Ghost Mission 1: Landed near Mons Latreille, Mare Crisium (03:34 EST)
Sources: NASA (2 Mar 2025) · NASA (18 Mar 2025) · Firefly Aerospace (read 24 Sep 2026) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
Sources: NASA (release 25-025) (7 Mar 2025) · LROC team (Arizona State University, NASA LRO) (Mar 2025) · NASA (updated 29 Apr 2025)
IM-2 Athena (+ PRIME-1, Grace, MAPP, Yaoki): Mission ended (12:15 am CST)
Sources: NASA (release 25-025) (7 Mar 2025) · LROC team (Arizona State University, NASA LRO) (Mar 2025) · NASA (updated 29 Apr 2025)
Reconciliation act adds about $10 billion for NASA
Includes $4.1 billion for the SLS rockets for Artemis IV and V and $2.6 billion for Gateway.
Sources: SpacePolicyOnline (3 Jul 2025)
Lunar Trailblazer: Mission ended
Sources: NASA JPL (4 Aug 2025)
Fission Surface Power directive
At least 100 kWe, closed Brayton cycle, awards to up to two providers with an option to down-select at PDR, "readiness to launch by the first quarter of FY30".
Sources: NASA (Acting Administrator directive) (4 Aug 2025)
VIPER delivery conditionally revived on Blue Moon MK1 #2
$190 million total potential value. The base order covers design and demonstration; the deployment option is decided after Blue Moon MK1’s first flight.
Sources: NASA (19 Sep 2025)
NASA asks SpaceX and Blue Origin for lander-acceleration proposals
Task orders to both providers; proposals were due in December 2025.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Executive Order 14369, "Ensuring American Space Superiority"
"Returning Americans to the Moon by 2028"; "establishing initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030"; "a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030".
Sources: The White House (Executive Order 14369) (18 Dec 2025)
New Glenn return to flight
Sources: Spaceflight Now (30 Jun 2026)
NASA–DOE memorandum on a lunar surface reactor
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy (13 Jan 2026)
Mobile Launcher 2 construction halted
Sources: U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
Artemis restructured: Artemis III becomes an Earth-orbit test; Artemis IV becomes the first landing
NASA: "the Artemis III mission, now in 2027 … to prepare for an Artemis IV landing in 2028", and "at least one surface landing every year thereafter". SLS standardised on the Block 1 configuration.
Sources: NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026)
NASA drops the Exploration Upper Stage; Artemis IV "early 2028", Artemis V "by late 2028"
NASA is "no longer planning to use the Exploration Upper Stage or Mobile Launcher 2". A ULA Centaur V upper stage was selected through a sole-source justification. GAO (July 2026): a dummy upper stage on Artemis III, the single remaining ICPS on Artemis IV, and Centaur V on later missions.
Sources: NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
NASA OIG report on the Human Landing System contracts
SpaceX’s lander "will not be ready for a June 2027 lunar landing"; it is "too early to determine the technical feasibility" of acceleration; NASA has no capability to rescue a stranded crew.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · Spaceflight Now (10 Mar 2026)
Ignition: NASA pauses Gateway and announces a south-pole Moon Base
Gateway paused "in its current form" (GAO); a phased Moon Base at about $20 billion over seven years (as presented, per the Planetary Society); an expanded CLPS with up to 30 robotic landings starting in 2027 (Planetary Society), and a CLPS 2.0 procurement that NASA says is "targeted to be capped at $6 billion" over an anticipated 10-year ordering period.
Sources: NASA (updated 26 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 15 May 2026) · The Planetary Society (24 Mar 2026) · SpaceQ (24 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
Sources: NASA (20 Apr 2026) · NASA (15 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (10 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (1 Apr 2026) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026) · Via Satellite (12 Apr 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
FY2027 budget request: NASA $18.8 billion, Artemis $8.5 billion
Against $24.4 billion enacted for FY2026. Proposes redirecting the $2.6 billion of Gateway money to a lunar base camp ($175 million new line).
Sources: SpacePolicyOnline (3 Apr 2026)
Artemis II (Orion): Lunar flyby: closest approach about 4,067 miles above the far side
Sources: NASA (20 Apr 2026) · NASA (15 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (10 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (1 Apr 2026) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026) · Via Satellite (12 Apr 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
Artemis II (Orion): New human distance record: 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth
Sources: NASA (20 Apr 2026) · NASA (15 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (10 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (1 Apr 2026) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026) · Via Satellite (12 Apr 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
Artemis II (Orion): Splashdown off San Diego, 2.9 miles from target
Sources: NASA (20 Apr 2026) · NASA (15 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (10 Apr 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (1 Apr 2026) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026) · Via Satellite (12 Apr 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
NASA OIG on lunar suits (IG-26-006)
If Axiom’s delays follow the historical average, "the Artemis and ISS demonstrations may not occur until 2031".
Sources: SpacePolicyOnline (20 Apr 2026)
Artemis III SLS core stage arrives at Kennedy
Sources: NASA (Artemis III news and updates) (read 23 Sep 2026)
NASA outlines Artemis III: Orion docks with both landers’ pathfinders in Earth orbit
"Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system pathfinder" and "SpaceX’s Starship human landing system pathfinder"; a non-propulsive spacer replaces the upper stage.
Sources: NASA (13 May 2026)
Starship Flight 12, the first V3 ship
Suborbital. The ship succeeded; the booster made a hard splashdown in the Gulf after a partial boostback burn.
Sources: Space.com (22 May 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Moon Base awards: two lunar terrain vehicles, lander task orders, MoonFall drones
Astrolab CLV-1 ($219M) and Lunar Outpost Pegasus ($220M), both to be delivered by 2028; Blue Origin task orders ($188M plus a $280.4M option) to deliver them; four MoonFall drones designed by NASA JPL, with Firefly building the spacecraft that carries them to the Moon, launch targeted for 2028. Moon Base I, II and III named.
Sources: NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026) · SpacePolicyOnline (26 May 2026) · Astrolab (26 May 2026)
New Glenn explodes during a static fire at LC-36
About 9 pm EDT on 28 May. Blue Origin’s CEO said on 6 Aug that "the anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines". LC-36 is New Glenn’s only pad; Blue Moon MK1 slipped to early 2027.
Sources: Spaceflight Now (29 May 2026) · Spaceflight Now (6 Aug 2026) · Spaceflight Now (30 Jun 2026)
Artemis III crew named
Randy Bresnik (commander), Luca Parmitano (pilot, ESA: "the first time an ESA astronaut has been assigned an Artemis mission"), Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio; backup Bob Hines.
Sources: NASA (release 26-048) (9 Jun 2026)
Four more CLPS deliveries awarded for late 2028
Sources: NASA (30 Jun 2026) · Via Satellite (30 Jun 2026)
Artemis III booster stacking begins
Stacking began in early July. By 7 Sep four of the five segments were stacked on each booster and all four RS-25 engines were installed on the core stage.
Sources: NASA (Artemis III news and updates) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASASpaceflight (7 Sep 2026)
GAO assessment of NASA major projects
HLS cost and schedule baselines "under review"; the lunar suit programme’s key decision point deferred, and the suit "does not meet several sizing requirements".
Sources: U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
Starship Flight 13 (V3)
Suborbital; released 20 Starlink V3 satellites on a path that deorbited them by design. SpaceX: "softest splashdown we have ever had". The booster hit the water harder than planned.
Sources: Space.com (Jul 2026)
NASA expects only one lunar launch in 2026 (Griffin-1)
Sources: Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026)
Starship Flight 14: the first Starship to reach orbit
"Splashdown confirmed ... the first orbital flight of Starship" (SpaceX, 28 Sep 2026). Liftoff time from Launch Library 2.
SpaceX reports that the ship entered orbit, deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites it carried (all in contact), then made a deorbit burn and splashed down in the Pacific after about 3 hours in orbit; the booster splashed down in the Gulf. The first 13 flights were all suborbital. The ship was Starlink-configured, a variant of the family, so reaching orbit does not move rung L1 on its own (method v1.0.3).
Sources: SpaceX on X (28 Sep 2026) · SpaceX on X (28 Sep 2026) · Space.com (updated 17 Sep 2026)
Griffin Mission One ("Moon Base II")
Lander plus Astrolab’s FLIP rover for the Nobile crater region near Mons Mouton, near the south pole, 10 payloads in all; on 15 Sep 2026 NASA expected it to be the only lunar launch of 2026. Falcon Heavy per Spaceflight Now. Voyager Technologies completed its acquisition of Astrobotic on 13 Jul 2026.
Sources: NASA (20 Oct 2026) · Voyager Technologies (SEC filing) (2 Nov 2026) · The Space Review (26 Oct 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · NASA (updated 14 Oct 2026) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) · Voyager Technologies (13 Jul 2026) · Spaceflight Now (16 Jun 2026) · NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026)
FY2027 continuing resolution runs out
NASA is funded at FY2026 levels until then
Sources: Computing Research Association (3 Sep 2026)
Blue Moon MK1 "Endurance" ("Moon Base I")
Uncrewed cargo pathfinder (not the crew lander) for the Shackleton connecting ridge, carrying NASA’s SCALPSS cameras and a laser retroreflector. The slip followed the New Glenn explosion on its pad in May 2026.
Sources: Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026) · Spaceflight Now (30 Jun 2026)
IM-3 Nova-C "Trinity" ("Moon Base III")
Reiner Gamma swirl (Lunar Vertex). NASA had said 2026 on 26 May 2026.
Sources: Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
Mons Mouton.
Sources: NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) · NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026)
Artemis III: crewed docking test with lander pathfinders in Earth orbit
A planned 14-day mission (NASA, 23 Oct 2026). Blue Origin launches a Blue Moon Mark 2 test article first (it can stay in orbit up to 30 days); Orion launches days later and docks with it, and astronauts spend about two days aboard. Orion then docks with a Starship Version 3 test article in a test "expected to last up to two hours"; the crew will not enter Starship. NASA plans to fly a stand-in version of a suit on the Blue Origin lander (GAO). NASA, 23 Oct 2026: "Launching in 2027". At that day’s briefing the Administrator spoke of a "year-end tanking test and summer 2027 Artemis III launch", and a chart shown there put the mission between May and September (Aerospace America). Earlier wording: "mid-2027" (NASA); "a late 2027 rendezvous" (the Administrator to Congress, 27 Apr 2026).
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (release 26-048) (9 Jun 2026) · NASA (updated 12 Jun 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (27 Apr 2026)
Starship HLS uncrewed lunar landing demonstration
NASA (23 Oct 2026): both providers must fly an uncrewed demonstration with their crewed landers before the crewed Moon missions, and SpaceX will demonstrate propellant aggregation during it. NASA’s Kelvin Manning said on 20 Oct 2026 that the uncrewed SpaceX landing test is planned for late 2027 (SpacePolicyOnline). OIG (March 2026): SpaceX’s demonstration includes a lunar ascent test, "lifting off the lunar surface and relighting of the Raptor engines", but NASA did not require "an end-to-end ascent, return, and docking"; a NASA safety panel member gave the same picture on 22 Oct 2026, a landing followed by an engine restart, not a return to lunar orbit (SpacePolicyOnline). OIG had expected the demonstration "to slip to the end of 2026" at the earliest. It still depends on ship-to-ship transfer.
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · SpacePolicyOnline (22 Oct 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Ship-to-ship cryogenic propellant transfer demonstration
NASA and SpaceX say early 2027; GAO (July 2026) had said 2026
Needed by Starship HLS. Planned for March 2025, then March 2026 (OIG); not attempted in Starship's 14 flights as of 28 Sep 2026 (Flight 14, the first to reach orbit, did not include it). GAO (July 2026) names a long duration flight test and a propellant transfer test as Starship's next major HLS flight milestones: "Both tests are scheduled for 2026." In October 2026 NASA’s Kelvin Manning said SpaceX plans to demonstrate in-space cryogenic transfer in early 2027 (SpacePolicyOnline), and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the first large-scale in-orbit refuelling demonstration is planned for "early next year" (CBS News; also Ars Technica).
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · SpacePolicyOnline (22 Oct 2026) · CBS News (23 Oct 2026) · Ars Technica (21 Oct 2026) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary)
VIPER was cancelled in July 2024 and conditionally revived on 19 Sep 2025. The base task order covers design and demonstration; NASA "will make the decision to exercise that option after the execution and review of the base task and of Blue Origin’s first flight of the Blue Moon MK1 lander", which has slipped to early 2027. On 20 Oct 2026 NASA said VIPER "will embark on a mission to the lunar South Pole region in 2027" and that the rover is "fully built and undergoing final testing"; no decision to exercise the option has been announced. $190M is the total potential value.
Sources: NASA (19 Sep 2025) · NASA (17 Jul 2024) · NASA (20 Oct 2026)
Blue Ghost Mission 2 (+ Lunar Pathfinder, LuSEE-Night, Rashid 2)
Far-side lander. ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder relay and the UAE’s Rashid 2 rover ride with it, so their dates follow this mission.
Sources: Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) · Firefly Aerospace (22 May 2025) · Dubai Media Office (MBRSC) (3 Nov 2025)
Artemis IV: first crewed landing since 1972
Four crew; two descend near the lunar south pole. NASA: "Lander readiness will determine which provider will safely carry them to the surface": SpaceX Starship HLS or Blue Origin Blue Moon. SpaceX’s existing contract covered the former Artemis III and IV landings.
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 16 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
NASA: "future missions about once per year thereafter". GAO (July 2026): the single remaining ICPS upper stage flies on Artemis IV, and Vulcan Centaur V upper stages on "subsequent missions". Before the February 2026 restructure it was assigned Blue Moon Mk2 with a launch "no later than March 2030" (OIG).
Sources: NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Gruithuisen Domes; six NASA payloads ($179M).
Sources: NASA (18 Dec 2024) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
Four CLPS deliveries awarded 30 Jun 2026
Astrobotic $297.9M for two, Firefly $144.2M, Intuitive Machines $148.3M. Common payloads: SCALPSS, a laser retroreflector and the LETS radiation spectrometer.
Sources: NASA (30 Jun 2026) · Via Satellite (30 Jun 2026)
Four drones to scout Artemis landing sites.
Sources: NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026)
Artemis IV: first crewed landing since 1972
Lander not yet designated: "lander readiness will determine which provider". OIG: both providers face challenges that could further affect delivery schedules for a 2028 landing.
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · NASA (updated 16 Mar 2026) · NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026)
Artemis V: second landing
Sources: NASA ESDMD (3 Mar 2026) · U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556) (23 Jul 2026)
Lunar terrain vehicles delivered to the south pole
Sources: NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026)
South pole region.
Sources: NASA (29 Jul 2025) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026)
Blue Moon Mk2 uncrewed demonstration
February 2029 is a pre-restructure OIG projection (March 2026) for a demonstration of Blue Origin’s "cryogenic propellant transfer capabilities". Under NASA’s 23 Oct 2026 plan Blue Origin defers propellant transfer for its 2028 crewed landing and will "demonstrate the full mission profile in an uncrewed lander transfer stage demonstration mission"; NASA gives no date.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004) (10 Mar 2026) · NASA (23 Oct 2026)
Fission surface reactor ready for launch
Directive: readiness to launch by Q1 FY2030 (Oct–Dec 2029). EO 14369: "a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030". NASA has since named it Lunar Reactor-1 and says it "will land on the lunar surface in 2030". No prime vendor award found as of September 2026.
Sources: NASA (Acting Administrator directive) (4 Aug 2025) · The White House (Executive Order 14369) (18 Dec 2025) · NASA (read 24 Sep 2026)
Moon Base Phase 2: power, communications, JAXA pressurised rover
Phase plan, not a hardware schedule. NASA’s Moon Base manager said on 15 Sep 2026 that Phase 1 "extends to 2029"
Sources: SpaceQ (24 Mar 2026) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026)
EO goal: initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost
Policy goal; no definition of continuous crewing
Sources: The White House (Executive Order 14369) (18 Dec 2025) · NASA (updated 26 Mar 2026)
Moon Base Phase 3: long-duration human presence
ASI multi-purpose habitats and a CSA lunar utility vehicle. There is no official date for continuous occupation.
Sources: SpaceQ (24 Mar 2026) · The Planetary Society (24 Mar 2026)
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