NASA’s plans for Artemis III have changed quite a bit since the first conception. Since Artemis II had already flown over the Moon, the initial rationale was to continue along the same lines. However, it was decided to conduct all mission tests directly in Earth orbit to reduce cost and safety of the astronauts. Beyond that, we didn’t have much information about this third phase of the lunar program until now. However, on October 23, NASA issued a statement in which it described step by step what the plan would be and, of course, what role its two main partners would have: SpaceX and Blue Origin.
A stop along the way. Artemis III will primarily be responsible for docking experiments with the SpaceX and Blue Origin lunar modules, before eventually moving to the Moon on Artemis IV. This can be done directly in Earth orbit, though rarely. In its statement, NASA indicated that the experiments will be conducted at an altitude of 555 km, since there will be more thermal stability. The Orion capsule was designed as a deep spacecraft, and the thermal environment in low Earth orbit is demanding, so care must be taken.
first day. Artemis III will launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, loaded with the Blue Moon module, and NASA’s SLS rocket, which will be responsible for propelling the Orion capsule. Next on board will be astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, from NASA, as well as Luca Parmitano, from ESA.
First five days. For two days, the crew will test Orion’s systems. Then, on Day 3, the capsule will dock with the Blue Moon and spend two more days with it. One or two astronauts will enter the module, perform life support and pressure assessments, and test both spacecraft’s emergency systems.
SpaceX comes. On the 6th, SpaceX’s Starship will finally take off with a docking adapter in the nose. It will dock with Orion on the 8th, for about two hours. In this case, the crew will not enter the lunar module, as its two purposes will be to measure the coupling force and thrust of the Orion-starship assembly.
This is because, while Blue Moon will dock in lunar orbit on Artemis IV, the starship will join Orion in Earth orbit and be responsible for pushing it into lunar orbit via a translunar burn. The Orion-starship set would travel to the Moon this way, so that, once in orbit, two astronauts could stay inside while the others landed on the Moon.
Survival suit tested. Another mission of Artemis III will be to test the crew’s survival suits, which was not possible on Artemis II.
Or SpaceX or Blue Origin. While Artemis III involves both organizations, only one of them will be elected in Artemis IV. That moment is best prepared. Therefore, what is tested are two possible constructs. If SpaceX is chosen, the meeting will be held in Earth orbit, while with Blue Origin it will be held in lunar orbit. Both will dock at Orion, where half of the crew will stay while the others land on the moon. Starship will also take the ship to the moon.
It should be noted that one of the two lunar modules will not be chosen forever. Their purpose is to turn the Artemis program into a series of missions.
SpaceX and the Challenge of Blue Origin. In order to reach the moon in 2028 with the Artemis IV mission, both NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin have been forced to simplify their spacecraft designs. For their part, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos’ companies will need to demonstrate the proper functioning of their respective lunar modules for their assigned missions. Part of that demonstration will take place directly on Artemis III, but they must conduct independent experiments, such as refueling in Earth orbit in the case of SpaceX.
Available dates. There is currently no exact release date for Artemis III and much less for Artemis IV. If all goes well, it is expected that the first will be launched sometime in the summer of 2027 and the fourth mission of the lunar program will take place in 2028. Although, logically, everything will depend on the tests that are still ahead.
Picture | SpaceX
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