NASA targets 2028 for moon base and astronaut landing

NASA is adopting an intense Apollo-era playbook to build a moon base and land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2028, according to an update shared by Administrator Jared Isaacman at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Tech TL;DR:
• NASA is targeting mid-2027 for the Artemis III mission, which will test critical rendezvous and docking systems in Earth orbit with lunar landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
• The agency plans to keep its options open between SpaceX and Blue Origin before selecting the final lander for the crewed Artemis IV touchdown in 2028.
• NASA is partnering with United Launch Alliance to modify the Centaur V upper stage so the Orion capsule can reach low-lunar orbit.

Docking Exercises Scheduled for Next Year

The upcoming Artemis III mission will feature four astronauts—three from NASA and one from the Italian space agency—blasting off on a two-week orbital test flight, according to the Associated Press. Instead of traveling to the Moon, the mission will focus on rigorous rendezvous and docking drills in Earth orbit. Orion will dock first with Blue Origin’s Blue Ghost spacecraft roughly 270 miles above Earth, followed by a separate docking maneuver with SpaceX’s Starship at a lower altitude.

According to updates provided by Space.com, three agency officials participated in the Kennedy Space Center briefing: Administrator Jared Isaacman, Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, and Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons. Isaacman emphasized that the accelerated schedule mirrors past operational intensity. “It’s about our own history. It’s a playbook this agency knows really well, the same playbook that went from Apollo 7 splashdown to Apollo 11 in just nine months,” Isaacman stated during the news conference.

SpaceX and Blue Origin Streamline Lunar Flight Designs

Both commercial partners have streamlined their flight designs and operational concepts to meet the 2028 window, as outlined by official NASA documentation. SpaceX plans to utilize low Earth orbit propellant aggregation, launching multiple tanker vehicles to fuel a depot Starship that will subsequently power the Starship Human Landing System toward the Moon. Blue Origin will deploy a multistage architecture, utilizing three transfer stages alongside the Blue Moon Mark 2 Alpha Lander to accomplish the journey without immediate orbital propellant transfers.

NASA is working to resolve a long-standing engineering limitation regarding the Orion spacecraft. Because the low-performing Service Module lacks the delta-V capability required to reach low-lunar orbit and return directly to a Pacific splashdown, past mission architectures relied on a Lunar Gateway in a near-rectilinear halo orbit. By collaborating with United Launch Alliance to develop an extended Centaur V upper stage, NASA can now target low-lunar orbit directly. This trajectory significantly reduces the propellant mass required by Blue Origin’s lander during descent and ascent phases.

Selecting Landers for the South Pole Base

The ultimate objective of the accelerated program is to establish a sustained human presence near the lunar south pole, setting a foundational baseline for future crewed missions to Mars. While uncrewed transfer stage demonstrations and robotic precursor missions will test system readiness, NASA has intentionally deferred its final procurement decision. The agency will maintain operational flexibility, keeping its options open between SpaceX and Blue Origin before awarding the final contract to carry astronauts down to the surface for Artemis IV in 2028.

# Architectural parameters for Artemis lunar insertion profiles
orion_service_module: "Standard"
target_orbit: "Low-Lunar Orbit"
upper_stage_upgrade: "Extended Centaur V"
primary_contractors: ["SpaceX", "Blue Origin"]
landing_site_target: "Lunar South Pole"

The urgency behind the updated schedule is driven in part by international competition, with military and political officials noting that establishing responsible operational norms on the lunar surface remains a priority as foreign programs pursue comparable milestones.

Agency Officials Review Progress at Kennedy Space Center

We are executing President Trump’s National Space Policy to complete the long-awaited return of American astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028 and establish a Moon Base, said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. As a rocket nerd, it’s going to be pretty awesome, said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator. It is incredibly ambitious, Rubio told The Associated Press earlier this month. One thing I’ve always believed and learned is don’t bet against America.

More on this story: NASA Lays Out Artemis III Moon-Lander Test Plan for SpaceX and Blue Origin