Program tracker · NASA
For BD teams in the lander supply chains, investors following SpaceX and Blue Origin, and policy readers tracking when Artemis can land.
Sources: NASA (RELEASE 26-022), NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture (Feb 27, 2026)
Sources: NASA, NASA outlines preliminary Artemis III mission plans (May 13, 2026); NASA (release 26-048), NASA marches toward Artemis III mission in 2027, names crew members (Jun 9, 2026)
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
Sources: NASA, NASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions (Oct 23, 2026); NASA (mission blog), NASA shares Artemis acceleration plans for Moon missions (Oct 23, 2026); NASA (RELEASE 26-022), NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture (Feb 27, 2026); NASA ESDMD, NASA Strengthens Artemis, Adds Mission, Refines Overall Architecture (Mar 3, 2026); NASA, Artemis IV mission page (Mar 16, 2026); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556), NASA: Assessments of Major Projects (Jul 23, 2026)
Curated rows checked against their sources on Sep 27, 2026; database rows (awards, satellites, launches) are read live and cached for an hour. Every fact links its source. Nothing here is sponsored, and no company can pay to change, reorder or preview it. Spotted an error? Report a correction.
Compiled Nov 12, 2026 from 6 public records. Every figure links the record it comes from.
Obligated on USAspending awards matched to the program by our rule
$3.88B on 12 awards
Largest recipient: SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP., $3.24B
Money actually obligated on the rows our rule matches, for the companies we track; an announced ceiling is not obligation. The rule is printed under the awards table.
Source: USAspending.gov
Latest award Sep 27, 2021
Also: USAspending: 80MSFC20C0020, USAspending: 80MSFC21CA017, USAspending: 80MSFC21CA018
Contracts announced by the customer or the contractor
8 announced awards
Newest: SpaceX and Blue Origin, Cargo lander missions: SpaceX to deliver JAXA's pressurized rover (no earlier than fiscal 2032); Blue Origin to deliver a lunar habitat (no earlier than fiscal 2033)
Source: NASA
Announced Nov 19, 2024
Launches on the schedule
2; 0 slipped
Next: New Glenn | Blue Origin HLS LEO Demo, Jun 2027
A slip counts only when both dates were known to the day (the Launch Ledger rule), so a placeholder date rolling forward is not a slip.
Source: Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs)
Schedule read; slips recorded since 2026-08-29 Nov 12, 2026
APA
SpaceNexus. (2026, November 12). NASA Artemis Human Landing System (HLS): Program tracker [Data set]. Retrieved November 12, 2026, from https://spacenexus.us/programs/artemis-hls
Chicago
SpaceNexus. "NASA Artemis Human Landing System (HLS): Program tracker." Data as of November 12, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://spacenexus.us/programs/artemis-hls.
BibTeX
@misc{spacenexus_nasaartemishumanlandingsystemhls_2026,
author = {{SpaceNexus}},
title = {{NASA Artemis Human Landing System (HLS)}: Program tracker},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
howpublished = {\url{https://spacenexus.us/programs/artemis-hls}},
url = {https://spacenexus.us/programs/artemis-hls},
urldate = {2026-11-12},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-12; each fact links its primary source}
}| Announced | Contractor | What | Value as announced | Award record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 2024 | SpaceX and Blue Originfor NASA | Cargo lander missions: SpaceX to deliver JAXA's pressurized rover (no earlier than fiscal 2032); Blue Origin to deliver a lunar habitat (no earlier than fiscal 2033)Planned under the existing HLS contractsNASA published no values. Sources: NASA, NASA Plans to Assign Missions for Two Future Artemis Cargo Landers (Nov 19, 2024) | Not publishedannounced total | No USAspending record linked |
| May 19, 2023 | Blue Originfor NASA | Sustaining Lunar Development: Blue Moon crew lander, with an uncrewed demo and a crewed demo on Artemis VNextSTEP-2 Appendix PThe Inspector General gives about $3.1 billion for the crew-lander portion, excluding cargo-lander line items. Sources: NASA, NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second Artemis Lunar Lander Provider (May 19, 2023); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026) | $3.4 billionannounced total | 80MSFC23CA014 |
| Nov 15, 2022 | SpaceXfor NASA | Option B: a sustaining lander for Artemis IVOption on 80MSFC20C0034The Inspector General puts it at "approximately $1 billion". Sources: NASA, NASA Awards SpaceX Second Contract Option for Artemis Moon Landing (Nov 15, 2022); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026) | $1.15 billionannounced total | 80MSFC20C0034 |
| Sep 14, 2021 | Blue Origin, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and SpaceXfor NASA | Sustaining lander studies (Appendix N): five awardsNextSTEP-2 Appendix NNASA's combined value for the five awards: Blue Origin $25.6 million, Dynetics $40.8 million, Lockheed Martin $35.2 million, Northrop Grumman $34.8 million and SpaceX $9.4 million (the solicitation allowed up to $45 million each). USAspending lists them as 80MSFC21CA015 to 80MSFC21CA019. Sources: NASA, NASA Selects Five U.S. Companies to Mature Artemis Lander Concepts (Sep 14, 2021); NASA, NextSTEP-2 N: Sustainable Human Landing System Studies and Risk Reduction (Apr 27, 2021) | $146 millionannounced total | No USAspending record linked |
| Apr 16, 2021 | SpaceXfor NASA | Option A: Starship HLS for the crewed landing then planned for Artemis III, with an uncrewed demonstrationOption on 80MSFC20C0034The source selection statement gives a total evaluated price of $2,941,394,557. GAO denied bid protests by Blue Origin and Dynetics in 2021, and a Blue Origin lawsuit, which halted work, was denied in November 2021; the Inspector General says the protests delayed Starship's contractual delivery date by 6 months. Sources: NASA, As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon (Apr 16, 2021); NASA, Human Landing System Option A source selection statement (Apr 16, 2021); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026) | $2.89 billionannounced total | 80MSFC20C0034 |
| Apr 30, 2020 | Blue Originfor NASA | HLS base period (2020): Integrated Lander Vehicle designNextSTEP-2 Appendix HNASA announced $967 million combined for the three 2020 awards and published no split. The figures here are the Inspector General's ("over $480 million" to Blue Origin); its three figures sum to about $855 million, less than the announced total. USAspending shows $479.7 million obligated on this award. Sources: NASA, NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Moon Missions (Apr 30, 2020); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026) | $480 millionbase | 80MSFC20C0020 |
| Apr 30, 2020 | Dynetics (a Leidos company)for NASA | HLS base period (2020): Dynetics lander designNextSTEP-2 Appendix HInspector General: "nearly $240 million". USAspending shows $239.7 million obligated on this award. Sources: NASA, NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Moon Missions (Apr 30, 2020); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026) | $240 millionbase | 80MSFC20C0035 |
| Apr 30, 2020 | SpaceXfor NASA | HLS base period (2020): Starship designNextSTEP-2 Appendix HInspector General: "nearly $135 million". Options A and B were later added to the same award. Sources: NASA, NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Moon Missions (Apr 30, 2020); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026) | $135 millionbase | 80MSFC20C0034 |
NASA buys HLS under NextSTEP-2 appendices. SpaceX's base period, Option A and Option B sit on one award (80MSFC20C0034), so its USAspending obligation is the three together. Blue Origin's 2023 award (80MSFC23CA014) is not yet in our USAspending mirror; its announced value and award link are above. No primary source we found names SpaceX's HLS suppliers.
12 award records with $3.88 billion obligated, dated May 30, 2019 to Sep 27, 2021. Obligated means money actually put on contract, not an announced ceiling. Newest row read from USAspending on Nov 6, 2026.
| Recipient | Awards | Obligated |
|---|---|---|
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | 3 | $3.24 billion |
| BLUE ORIGIN FEDERATION, LLC | 3 | $515.9 million |
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION | 2 | $57.1 million |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | 2 | $56.6 million |
| THE BOEING COMPANY | 1 | $12.7 million |
| AEROJET ROCKETDYNE OF DE, INC | 1 | $888,683 |
| Award ID | Recipient | Description (the government's words) | Date | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80MSFC20C0034 | SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | WORK REQUIRED FOR THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURE, TEST, LAUNCH, DEMONSTRATION, AND ENGINEERING SUPPORT OF THE HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) INTEGRATED LANDER. | May 13, 2020 | $3.23 billion |
| 80MSFC20C0020 | BLUE ORIGIN FEDERATION, LLC | WORK REQUIRED FOR THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURE, TEST, LAUNCH, DEMONSTRATION, AND ENGINEERING SUPPORT OF THE HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) INTEGRATED LANDER. | May 13, 2020 | $479.7 million |
| 80MSFC21CA017 | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | THIS HLS EFFORT FURTHER DEVELOPS SUSTAINING LUNAR LANDER CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DESIGN, TRADE STUDIES AND JOINT WORKING GROUPS AND PERFORM RISK MITIGATION ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE SUSTAINABLE LUNAR LANDER DEVELOPMENT RI | Sep 27, 2021 | $50.5 million |
| 80MSFC21CA018 | NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION | THIS HLS EFFORT FURTHER DEVELOPS SUSTAINING LUNAR LANDER CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DESIGN, TRADE STUDIES AND JOINT WORKING GROUPS AND PERFORM RISK MITIGATION ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE SUSTAINABLE LUNAR LANDER DEVELOPMENT RI | Sep 27, 2021 | $46.3 million |
| 80MSFC21CA015 | BLUE ORIGIN FEDERATION, LLC | THIS HLS EFFORT FURTHER DEVELOPS SUSTAINING LUNAR LANDER CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DESIGN, TRADE STUDIES AND JOINT WORKING GROUPS AND PERFORM RISK MITIGATION ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE SUSTAINABLE LUNAR LANDER DEVELOPMENT RI | Sep 27, 2021 | $33.5 million |
| 80MSFC19C0022 | THE BOEING COMPANY | NASA HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) DESCENT STUDY ELEMENT | May 31, 2019 | $12.7 million |
| 80MSFC19C0029 | ORBITAL SCIENCES LLC | HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM STUDIES, RISK REDUCTION, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION | May 30, 2019 | $10.8 million |
| 80MSFC21CA019 | SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | THIS HLS EFFORT FURTHER DEVELOPS SUSTAINING LUNAR LANDER CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DESIGN, TRADE STUDIES AND JOINT WORKING GROUPS AND PERFORM RISK MITIGATION ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE SUSTAINABLE LUNAR LANDER DEVELOPMENT RI | Sep 27, 2021 | $9.7 million |
| 80MSFC19C0030 | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | NASA HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) DESCENT STUDY ELEMENT | May 30, 2019 | $6 million |
| 80MSFC19C0024 | BLUE ORIGIN FEDERATION, LLC | NASA HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) DESCENT ELEMENT - CONTRACTOR SHALL REFINE THE ARCHITECTURE, FUNCTIONAL ALLOCATION OPTIONS AND COMMON INTERFACES REQUIRED TO ENABLE THE HLS TO PROVIDE HUMAN LANDING CAPABILITY; INFORM OVERA | May 30, 2019 | $2.6 million |
| 80MSFC19C0023 | AEROJET ROCKETDYNE OF DE, INC | NASA HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) REFUELING ELEMENT - CONTRACTOR SHALL REFINE THE ARCHITECTURE, FUNCTIONAL ALLOCATION OPTIONS AND COMMON INTERFACES REQUIRED TO ENABLE THE HLS TO PROVIDE HUMAN LANDING CAPABILITY; INFORM OVE | May 30, 2019 | $888,683 |
| 80MSFC19C0027 | SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. | NASA HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) REFUELING ELEMENT - CONTRACTOR SHALL REFINE THE ARCHITECTURE, FUNCTIONAL ALLOCATION OPTIONS AND COMMON INTERFACES REQUIRED TO ENABLE THE HLS TO PROVIDE HUMAN LANDING CAPABILITY; INFORM OVE | May 30, 2019 | $483,232 |
Our USAspending mirror is filled company by company for the 493 companies we track, so awards to anyone else are not in it. Rule: USAspending contract rows from NASA Marshall (PIIDs beginning 80MSFC, which manages HLS) whose own description names the Human Landing System or HLS, including the 2019 studies and the 2021 sustaining-lander studies. A row whose description does not name HLS is left out, so the total is a floor. Source: USAspending.gov (US Treasury).
No public data in our pipeline yet: our FFATA subaward table holds no record for this program's award IDs. Primes report first-tier subawards to USAspending, and we will list them here when our subaward sync reaches these awards.
Sources: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin on Blue Origin's National Team Selected to Develop Human Lunar Lander (May 19, 2023); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
Sources: Draper, Draper Announces Artemis Award on the Blue Origin National Team (May 19, 2023)
Sources: Astrobotic, Astrobotic Secures Win for Artemis V with Blue Origin's National Team (May 23, 2023)
Sources: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin on Blue Origin's National Team Selected to Develop Human Lunar Lander (May 19, 2023); Draper, Draper Announces Artemis Award on the Blue Origin National Team (May 19, 2023); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's Management of the Human Landing System Contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
Unconfirmed: Boeing's role is not stated in any source we opened.
Sources: Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin on Blue Origin's National Team Selected to Develop Human Lunar Lander (May 19, 2023); Astrobotic, Astrobotic Secures Win for Artemis V with Blue Origin's National Team (May 23, 2023)
Unconfirmed: Its role is not stated in any source we opened.
As of September 27, 2026, no HLS lander or pathfinder has flown, so no HLS spacecraft is in the GCAT catalogue. Starship test flights so far have been suborbital and carried no catalogued HLS payload.
2 on the schedule; 0 have slipped at least once since we began recording on Aug 29, 2026. A date is shown only as precisely as the schedule knows it.
| Scheduled | Mission | Rocket | Slip history |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2027 | New Glenn | Blue Origin HLS LEO DemoLaunch Library record | New Glenn | No slip recorded |
| Jun 2027 | Starship | SpaceX HLS LEO DemoLaunch Library record | Starship | No slip recorded |
No flown launch in our record, which begins Nov 18, 2024.
Rule: Launch Library launches named for an HLS demonstration, and the Artemis missions that fly with an HLS lander or pathfinder (Artemis III, IV and V under NASA's current plan). Slips use the Launch Ledger rule: a move counts only when both dates were known to the day, so a placeholder rolling from one month or year to the next is never a slip. Schedule data from Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs).
HLS landers fly under NASA contracts; launch licences for the Starship and New Glenn test flights belong to the launch vehicles, not to this program.
SpaceX Starship HLS (Scheduled)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); Spaceflight Now, NASA inspector general assesses agency's management of Moon lander risk (Mar 10, 2026) [secondary]; Space.com, SpaceX pushes next Starship launch back to Sept. 28, a 6-day delay for megarocket's 1st orbital flight (Sep 17, 2026) [secondary]; SpaceX on X, Starship performs its orbital insertion burn and enters orbit of Earth for the first time (Sep 28, 2026); Wikipedia, List of Starship launches (Sep 23, 2026) [secondary]; SpacePolicyOnline, NASA Safety Panel Concerned About Artemis IV, Future Access to LEO (Oct 22, 2026) [secondary]; Ars Technica, NASA updates lander plans for Moon landings, finally solves long-festering Orion issue (Oct 23, 2026) [secondary]; CBS News, NASA says Artemis program adjustments improve shot at 2028 moon landing (Oct 23, 2026) [secondary]
Blue Origin Blue Moon Mk2 (crew) and MK1 (cargo) (Scheduled)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); NASA, NASA outlines preliminary Artemis III mission plans (May 13, 2026); Aerospace America (AIAA), NASA expects one lunar launch this year, Moon Base manager says (Sep 15, 2026) [secondary]; Spaceflight Now, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explodes during prelaunch testing (May 29, 2026) [secondary]; Spaceflight Now, Blue Origin identifies engine issue behind New Glenn explosion (Aug 6, 2026) [secondary]
16 Apr 2021 SpaceX Starship HLS contract (Option A) (Done)
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, As Artemis moves forward, NASA picks SpaceX to land next Americans on Moon (Apr 16, 2021); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); SpaceNews, GAO denies Blue Origin and Dynetics protests of NASA lunar lander contract (Jul 30, 2021) [secondary]; Space.com, Blue Origin loses federal lawsuit over NASA moon lander contract (Nov 4, 2021) [secondary]
Nov 2022 SpaceX HLS Option B exercised (Done)
A sustaining lander for the (former) Artemis IV, potential value about $1 billion (OIG).
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
May 2023 Blue Origin selected for a second crew lander (Blue Moon Mk2) (Done)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
14 Mar 2024 Starship Flight 3: propellant moved between two tanks inside one ship (Done)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
Oct 2025 NASA asks SpaceX and Blue Origin for lander-acceleration proposals (Done)
Task orders to both providers; proposals were due in December 2025.
Sources: NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
27 Feb 2026 Artemis restructured: Artemis III becomes an Earth-orbit test; Artemis IV becomes the first landing (Done)
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), NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture (Feb 27, 2026)
10 Mar 2026 NASA OIG report on the Human Landing System contracts (Done)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); Spaceflight Now, NASA inspector general assesses agency's management of Moon lander risk (Mar 10, 2026) [secondary]
13 May 2026 NASA outlines Artemis III: Orion docks with both landers’ pathfinders in Earth orbit (Done)
"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, NASA outlines preliminary Artemis III mission plans (May 13, 2026)
23 Jul 2026 GAO assessment of NASA major projects (Done)
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), NASA: Assessments of Major Projects (Jul 23, 2026)
Late 2027 (a NASA official, 20 Oct 2026, as reported); was "end of 2026" at the earliest (OIG, Mar 2026) Starship HLS uncrewed lunar landing demonstration (Projected)
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, NASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions (Oct 23, 2026); SpacePolicyOnline, NASA Safety Panel Concerned About Artemis IV, Future Access to LEO (Oct 22, 2026) [secondary]; NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
2027 (NASA, 23 Oct 2026: "Launching in 2027"; the Administrator said "summer 2027" the same day) Artemis III: crewed docking test with lander pathfinders in Earth orbit (Scheduled)
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).
Unconfirmed: An Orion "internal readiness date" of January 2028 (Wikipedia, no primary).
Sources: NASA, NASA’s Artemis III Mission to Test Future Moon Lander Operations (Oct 23, 2026); Aerospace America (AIAA), NASA eyeing year-end tanking test and summer 2027 launch for Artemis III (Oct 23, 2026) [secondary]; NASA (RELEASE 26-022), NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture (Feb 27, 2026); NASA ESDMD, NASA Strengthens Artemis, Adds Mission, Refines Overall Architecture (Mar 3, 2026); NASA (release 26-048), NASA marches toward Artemis III mission in 2027, names crew members (Jun 9, 2026); NASA, Artemis III mission page (Jun 12, 2026); U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556), NASA: Assessments of Major Projects (Jul 23, 2026); Aerospace America (AIAA), NASA 'received responses' from SpaceX and Blue Origin on Artemis III, Isaacman says (Apr 27, 2026) [secondary]
Early 2027 (NASA and SpaceX, Oct 2026); was March 2026 (OIG) Ship-to-ship cryogenic propellant transfer demonstration (Scheduled)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); U.S. GAO (GAO-26-108556), NASA: Assessments of Major Projects (Jul 23, 2026); SpacePolicyOnline, NASA Safety Panel Concerned About Artemis IV, Future Access to LEO (Oct 22, 2026) [secondary]; CBS News, NASA says Artemis program adjustments improve shot at 2028 moon landing (Oct 23, 2026) [secondary]; Ars Technica, SpaceX to attempt Starship catch on next flight, with eye on rapid cadence increase (Oct 21, 2026) [secondary]; Wikipedia, List of Starship launches (Sep 23, 2026) [secondary]
2028 Artemis IV: first crewed landing since 1972 (Scheduled)
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, NASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions (Oct 23, 2026); NASA (mission blog), NASA shares Artemis acceleration plans for Moon missions (Oct 23, 2026); NASA (RELEASE 26-022), NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture (Feb 27, 2026); NASA ESDMD, NASA Strengthens Artemis, Adds Mission, Refines Overall Architecture (Mar 3, 2026); NASA, Artemis IV mission page (Mar 16, 2026); NASA Office of Inspector General (IG-26-004), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026)
Feb 2029 Blue Moon Mk2 uncrewed demonstration (Projected)
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), NASA's management of the Human Landing System contracts (Mar 10, 2026); NASA, NASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions (Oct 23, 2026)
These rows are the Race to the Moon tracker's, shown here unchanged; its audit keeps them current.
How this page is built: the contract values under “As announced”, the suppliers, the schedule statements and the context are curated from primary sources and dated. The USAspending awards, GCAT payloads and launches are our own database rows, matched to the program by the rule printed under each table, so a row the rule misses is absent rather than guessed. Cite as “SpaceNexus program tracker: NASA Artemis Human Landing System (HLS)” with the link and the date you read it.
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