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NASA's Artemis III Crewed Lunar Landing represents humanity's triumphant return to the surface of another celestial world, marking our first footsteps on the lunar regolith in over half a century since Apollo 17 in 1972. Landing at the rugged, cratered terrain of the Lunar South Pole, Artemis III inaugurates a permanent, sustainable era of deep-space human exploration designed to prepare humankind for voyages to Mars.
The mission commences with the thunderous liftoff of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) from historic Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft are propelled by the European Service Module onto a multi-day trans-lunar trajectory, entering a gravitationally balanced Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the Moon.
In lunar orbit, Orion docks with the waiting SpaceX Starship Human Landing System (Starship HLS). Two designated surface astronauts transfer into Starship, initiating the powered descent maneuver toward the South Pole.
The Artemis III landing zones—clustered near the rim of Shackleton Crater, Malapert Mountain, and Faustini Plateau—stand in stark contrast to the equatorial plains of Apollo. Here, low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across craters that have remained in pitch darkness for over two billion years.
Inside these cryogenic cold traps lie billions of tons of ancient water ice. Astronauts wearing customized Axiom AxEMU spacesuits descend Starship's elevator to conduct scientific sorties, gathering pristine ice core samples that hold clues to the origin of water in the Solar System.
Over six days on the lunar surface, the crew executes four intensive moonwalks. They deploy autonomous seismometers under the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS), study biological seed growth under the LEAF payload, and collect geological strata from ancient South Pole-Aitken impact basins.
Equipped with 4K UHD helmet cameras and high-bandwidth optical laser communications, astronauts transmit real-time ultra-high-definition video and voice directly back to NASA Mission Control in Houston and global viewers.
Concluding surface science, Starship's ascent engines fire to return the astronauts to lunar orbit for rendezvous with Orion. The four astronauts reunite and fire Orion's main engine for trans-Earth injection, concluding with a fiery Mach 32 atmospheric entry and parachute splashdown in the Pacific Ocean monitored by the United States Navy.
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Artemis III Moon Landing is scheduled for September 1, 2027. The countdown timer at the top of the page updates the days remaining in real time.
Artemis III is NASA's historic crewed lunar landing mission that will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The mission will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, exploring the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon's South Pole.
Artemis III targets Candidate Landing Regions at the Lunar South Pole (such as Shackleton Crater, Faustini Rim, Peak Near Shackleton, and Malapert Mountain). These elevated polar plateaus feature near-continuous solar illumination for power while harboring ancient water-ice deposits inside permanently shadowed craters.
The mission utilizes NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 rocket and Orion spacecraft to launch four astronauts from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, where two astronauts transfer to the SpaceX Starship Human Landing System (Starship HLS) for lunar descent.
Astronauts will wear the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuits developed by Axiom Space. Designed for extreme polar temperatures ranging from +120°C to -230°C in shadow, the suits feature enhanced mobility joints, high-definition helmet lighting, and advanced life support systems for multiple 8-hour moonwalks.
The surface crew will spend approximately six to seven Earth days (150 hours) on the Moon, conducting four to five intensive extravehicular activities (EVAs) to collect geologic core samples, deploy scientific sensor stations, and prospect for volatile water-ice deposits.
Water-ice trapped in cryogenic polar regolith can be excavated and purified for astronaut drinking water and breathable oxygen, or split via solar electrolysis into liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to refuel Mars transport spacecraft, establishing a sustainable lunar economy.
The Artemis program operates under the multilateral Artemis Accords, partnering with the European Space Agency (ESA, providing the Orion European Service Module), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, developing pressurized lunar rovers), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA, building the Canadarm3 robotic arm).
After completing surface exploration, Starship HLS launches from the Moon to rendezvous with Orion in NRHO. The four crew members reunite in Orion, fire the European Service Module engine for trans-Earth injection, and execute a high-speed atmospheric skip reentry at 40,000 km/h (Mach 32) before parachuting into the Pacific Ocean.
The surface science suite includes Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) for seismic monitoring, Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) for plant biology studies in lunar gravity, and Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA) to measure regolith subsurface ice content.
NASA provides continuous 24/7 mission coverage on NASA TV, NASA+, and official YouTube and social channels, delivering real-time 4K live lunar surface video feeds, audio comms with Houston Mission Control, and astronaut spacewalk commentary.