NASA Artemis astronauts will have a lot of responsibilities once they arrive on the moon. The team will need to collect samples, perform experiments, and record observations after landing. But before they get there, they will require transport from their orbital Orion spacecraft to the lunar surface. That’s where SpaceX and the company’s Starship come into the equation. Ferrying astronauts to and from the moon will be a complex process—new conceptual images illustrate some of the maneuvers needed to accomplish the historic trip.
On November 20th, NASA released new renderings depicting multiple phases of the Artemis III lunar landing, currently scheduled for early 2026. SpaceX’s entire process, known as the Starship Human Landing System (HLS), involves first docking with Orion as it orbits the moon. From there, two Artemis astronauts will transfer from NASA’s spacecraft into a specialized version of the roughly 164-foot-tall Starship, at which point SpaceX’s vehicle will begin a controlled descent to the moon.
Prior to docking with Orion, however, HLS will need to refuel before it continues on its mission. This will involve another first-of-its-kind procedure in which yet another Starship—this one built to operate as a fuel tanker—connects with the transport spacecraft while in low Earth orbit. After additional propellant transfers into the HLS, the 15-story-tall vehicle will continue to its rendezvous with Orion.
A braking burn maneuver using two HLS Raptor engines will then ease the spacecraft into its landing. Given Starship’s height, astronauts will need to utilize a specially designed elevator to lower them and their equipment onto the moon, at which point they can make history as the first humans to return to the lunar surface in over 55 years.
Once the pair of astronauts complete their mission, the two will reascend into Starship, after which the spacecraft will launch and travel back to Orion to begin the return trip home.
Artemis III’s high-stakes HLS mission won’t proceed without SpaceX first demonstrating they are up to the challenge, however. The company intends to perform an uncrewed, low Earth orbit refueling mission as early as March 2025—although SpaceX projects are notorious for often lengthy delays.
If all goes as planned, Artemis III won’t be the last time NASA uses SpaceX’s Starship HLS. The space agency has even larger plans for its Artemis IV mission, which would involve docking a much more cargo-laden Starship with the planned Gateway orbital lunar space station, potentially as soon as 2028.
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