NASA confirms Artemis III will dock with SpaceX and Blue Origin landers

NASA announced that the Artemis III crew will test low‑Earth‑orbit docking with two commercial lunar landers – Blue Origin’s Mark 1 and SpaceX’s Starship V3 – as a rehearsal for future Moon landings. The four astronauts – NASA’s Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio, ESA pilot Luca Parmitano, and NASA mission specialist Andre Douglas – were named at a Houston event. The mission is slated for a 2027 launch, with the landers intended to support the Artemis IV lunar touchdown in 2028.

Despite a recent explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket during a test, NASA officials said the agency remains on schedule, calling setbacks “a learning opportunity.” Blue Origin’s senior vice‑president John Couluris expressed confidence that New Glenn will be ready, while SpaceX vice‑president Jessica Jensen said the company is “incredibly excited to help return humans to the Moon.”