NASA details faster Artemis plan with 2028 Moon landing

NASA has published new details of its faster Artemis schedule. The plan calls for a crewed test flight in Earth orbit in 2027 and a Moon landing on Artemis IV in 2028, with landers from both SpaceX and Blue Origin. Under the plan, SpaceX's Starship will refuel in Earth orbit, meet the Orion capsule and then carry it toward the Moon, according to NASA. The plan has also renewed a dispute over how many tanker launches that refueling will take.nasa.gov

The agency's Nov. 4 summary of an Oct. 23 briefing quoted Administrator Jared Isaacman. He said "the campaign must move with urgency as strategic competitors pursue a permanent presence beyond Earth".nasa.gov

Two paths to the surface

On the 14-day Artemis III mission, four astronauts will fly Orion to Earth orbit. There they will practice docking first with a Blue Moon test lander and then with a Version 3 Starship test vehicle. For Artemis IV, Blue Origin will use transfer stages in Earth orbit to push its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander toward the Moon, where it will meet Orion in lunar orbit. NASA is also weighing two upper-stage options for the SLS rocket. In addition, it plans a lighter "Sortie suit" with Axiom Space for the first moonwalks.nasa.gov

In SpaceX's design, several tanker Starships fill a fuel depot in low Earth orbit. The lander then docks with the depot and takes on its fuel before heading for the Moon.satnews.com

22 flights or six to eight

The count became an issue on Oct. 22, at a quarterly meeting of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. Panel member Charlie Precourt, a former astronaut, said: "We need to keep our eyes on numerous required fuelings for the lander. I think the last estimate is around 22 flights." Elon Musk answered on X: "That's way too high. Actual number will be more like 6 to 8".arstechnica.com

Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons said NASA was "definitely not tracking as high as 22." He added that a coming propellant-transfer demonstration will settle the real figure. The question has been open for years. A 2021 Government Accountability Office audit estimated that up to 16 launches could be needed (Space.com).space.com+1

An untested capability

No spacecraft has ever transferred fuel this way in orbit, and SpaceX has not yet tried it. The company plans its first test in early 2027. How much fuel arrives depends partly on how much of the liquid oxygen and methane boils off along the way. Jalopnik estimated that, even at Musk's target of two launches a week, 22 tanker flights would take about three months.jalopnik.com

Precourt framed the risk more broadly. "With respect to Artemis IV, however, we've got a large number of firsts that reduce the likelihood of mission success," he said.arstechnica.com