NASA outlined its Artemis III flight plan on October 23 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The planned 2027 mission would launch Orion from Kennedy and keep four astronauts in Earth orbit for roughly two weeks, rather than take them to the lunar surface.

The crew would first meet a Blue Origin lander test vehicle. Astronauts would enter its cabin to evaluate conditions, controls and life-support equipment. Orion would later dock with a SpaceX Starship test vehicle, but the crew would remain outside Starship during that shorter demonstration.

Three spacecraft launched separately make timing and coordination central to the mission. Engineers intend to examine guidance, communications, software and docking performance before relying on similar capabilities much farther from Earth. Additional time could support suit evaluations and scientific experiments.

NASA describes the rehearsals as preparation for a targeted lunar landing in 2028. These are future mission objectives, not completed flight results. Hardware readiness and successful testing remain necessary before the agency can carry out the sequence.