When will NASA’s Artemis III mission take place? What to know about the program’s next release

WASHINGTON — NASA will introduce the four astronauts who will fly on the Artemis 3 mission, giving the public a first look at the astronauts expected to pave the way to future moon landings.

Artemis 3 marks the next major step in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era and prepare it for future missions to Mars.

NASA is currently plan Artemis III will be launched in 2027.

Artemis 3 will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between NASA’s Orion spacecraft and commercial spacecraft systems that could eventually be used to send astronauts to the moon.

The astronauts will launch aboard the Orion spacecraft aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. During the mission, astronauts will help demonstrate the technology needed to safely connect Orion to a commercial lunar landing system.

NASA said more details about the mission design and crew assignments will be announced on the eve of launch.

Artemis 3 is the third mission in NASA’s Artemis program, designed to return astronauts to the moon and eventually support human exploration of Mars.

The program begins with Artemis I, an unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft around the moon in 2022.

The Artemis 2 mission earlier this year sent four astronauts to the moon but did not land. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

NASA officials say the purpose of the Artemis mission is not only to return humans to the moon, but also to help scientists and engineers understand how to live and work on another world before sending astronauts to Mars.

Crew announcements for Artemis III will be made on June 9, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on NASA+ and NASA’s YouTube channel.