NASA’s Artemis II and Artemis III missions will be launched in September 2025 and September 2026, respectively, as the agency addresses challenges observed in the program’s inaugural expedition.
NASA announced Tuesday that it adjusted its lift-off targets for Artemis II and III to ensure the safety of their crew, and to give time for SpaceX and Blue Origin to refine the development of future Artemis human landing systems.
The agency is implementing lessons learned from Artemis I, whose spacecraft heat shield lost char layer pieces during the mission. NASA is also currently testing and qualifying components such as critical environmental control and life support systems, batteries and air ventilation and temperature management circuits.
“We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.”