Space & Astronomy

NASA: Artemis III mission will no longer land humans on the Moon

By T.K. Randall
March 1, 2026

Image Credit: NASA As things stand, the upcoming Artemis II mission (which will see astronauts fly around the Moon but not land on it) has been delayed multiple times and is now scheduled to launch in April at the earliest.

While disappointing, it seemed as though things would otherwise stay on track and that the follow-up mission - Artemis III - would see the first manned Moon landing in over 50 years.

Now, though, NASA has come out with a further announcement that has basically upended the entire schedule by revealing that Artemis III will no longer seek to land humans on the Moon.

Instead, it will be a low-Earth orbit flight launched sometime next year to test docking manouvers.The actual manned landing will be attempted by Artemis IV (possibly as soon as 2028).

These changes are down to a number of issues, but mostly due to ever-increasing delays behind the scenes and technical issues that have plagued the Artemis program for years.

The more incremental approach will give NASA a bit more breathing space.

"Everybody agrees this is the only way forward," said NASA's administrator Jared Isaacman.

"I know this is how NASA changed the world, and this is how NASA is going to do it again."

Source: The Guardian

Tags: Artemis, Moon