Orion spacecraft
Artist's conception of the Orion spacecraft orbiting Earth. Part of the Artemis program, Orion is planned to carry astronauts to the Moon in the 2020s.
Artemis III
United States spaceflight
Artemis III, U.S. spaceflight that will launch in 2027 and test lunar landers in Earth orbit in preparation for astronauts to land on the Moon on Artemis IV. Artemis III will be the second crewed mission in the Artemis program after Artemis II flew around the Moon in April 2026. Originally Artemis III was to be the mission that returned astronauts to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972. However,...