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Misión espacial tripulada

Artemis III

Artemis III is a crewed demonstration planned for low Earth orbit in 2027, using Orion to test rendezvous and docking with commercial lander test vehicles.

Planned Verified 2026-10-07

Overview

A demonstration before the lunar return

Artemis III is planned for low Earth orbit in 2027. It will test systems and operations needed for later lunar missions. Under NASA’s architecture announced in 2026, it is not the lunar landing mission: that role belongs to Artemis IV, planned for 2028. These are mission plans, not completed events.

Vehicles and operations

SLS will launch Orion and four astronauts from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After Orion system checks, the mission will test rendezvous and docking with test versions of one or both commercial landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. Interfaces, software, propulsion and communications will be tested. The plan presented in June envisages about two weeks in space, with the exact duration dependent on launches and orbital operations.

Announced crew

On 9 June 2026 NASA announced Randy Bresnik as commander, ESA’s Luca Parmitano as pilot, and Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio as mission specialists. Bob Hines was named as backup. The crew should therefore no longer be described as unknown.

What the tests will demonstrate

The manoeuvres will assess how Orion and the lander vehicles work together before their use on lunar missions. A docking test near Earth is not a completed lunar descent. The year 2027 is the announced target, not an exact launch date assigned by this profile.

Essential data

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Sources and references

  1. JPL Missions NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  2. Moon to Mars | NASA's Artemis Program NASA
  3. NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans - NASA NASA
  4. Missions NASA
  5. 2026 News Releases NASA
  6. ESA - Our Missions European Space Agency
  7. ARTEMIS II MISSION AVAILABILITY – APRIL 2026 NASA
  8. 2026 - NASA Science NASA
  9. Upcoming Missions – LSP Education NASA
  10. NASA Selects Voyager for Seventh Private Mission to Space Station - NASA NASA
  11. NASA on Track for Future Missions with Initial Artemis II Assessments - NASA NASA
  12. Artemis II: NASA’s First Crewed Lunar Flyby in 50 Years - NASA NASA
  13. Artemis III NASA
  14. NASA Marches Toward Artemis III Mission in 2027, Names ... NASA

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