Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish
News published on October 27, 2026. The situation may have changed since then.
NASA has changed the script for its return to the Moon. The Artemis III mission, which was supposed to be the landing, will no longer try to land on the Moon. But the agency says the goal of setting foot there again still stands, and sooner: before the end of 2028.
The change
According to NASA's explanation, Artemis III will now be a rehearsal of about 14 days in low Earth orbit. There, four astronauts will practice docking with the lunar landers being developed by two private companies: SpaceX and Blue Origin.
In other words: before risking a descent to the Moon, they want to check close to home that the spacecraft join up and work well together.
Artemis III will be a roughly 14-day rehearsal in Earth orbit, not a landing.
The dates
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed on Friday, October 23 that the agency is keeping to the schedule to launch Artemis III in mid-2027.
And the big goal is still for astronauts to walk on the Moon again before the end of 2028, with the idea of later building a permanent base near the lunar south pole.
Why the south pole
The Moon's south pole is of great interest to scientists because some craters that never receive sunlight may contain water ice. That ice would be very valuable: it could be turned into drinking water, oxygen to breathe and even fuel.
Where we come from
The Artemis program is the United States' plan to return to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions, which ended in 1972. The previous mission, Artemis II, lifted off in April 2026 with astronauts on board to loop around the Moon.
No human has set foot on the Moon since 1972.
What the change means
For some, removing the landing from Artemis III looks like a step backward. For NASA, it's a way to reduce risk: rehearse the trickiest maneuvers near Earth first, where a problem is easier to solve. If all goes well, the big moment would come on the following mission.
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Sources (in Spanish)
- Cambios en Artemis III y la meta de 2028: Infobae (25 de octubre de 2026), Andina y Ecosistema Startup.
- Anuncio oficial de la conferencia: NASA y NASA Watch.
- Misión Artemis II: Wikipedia, Artemis II.
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