Overview
- NASA formally added a mid‑2027 low Earth orbit mission to demonstrate Orion rendezvous and docking with commercial human landers from SpaceX or Blue Origin, plus trials of new lunar xEVA suits.
- The agency now plans two crewed lunar surface opportunities in 2028, with Artemis IV targeted for early in the year and Artemis V toward year‑end.
- Artemis II remains the next flight, with teams repairing a helium‑flow issue in the SLS upper stage after rolling the stack back to the Vehicle Assembly Building; the launch window opens in April.
- NASA will standardize the SLS configuration, replace the interim cryogenic upper stage with a new second stage, and has dropped plans to use the Exploration Upper Stage and Mobile Launcher 2 due to delays.
- Following the 2028 landings, NASA aims to shift to roughly one crewed lunar mission per year, with Artemis V expected to begin initial work tied to a future lunar base.