NASA's October Artemis update laid out the current status of the Space Launch System, a lighter lunar spacesuit known as the sortie suit, and two parallel approaches for delivering astronauts to the lunar surface. Many of the elements had been discussed in earlier program briefings, but the update included the first public images of crew cabin hardware from both SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Three elements remain essential for the first crewed Artemis landing: the launch vehicle, the lunar lander and the spacesuit for extravehicular activity. Artemis III has been inserted into the manifest as a low-Earth-orbit mission, targeted for no earlier than summer 2027. On that 14-day flight, Orion is planned to dock with prototype versions of both Blue Origin's Blue Moon and SpaceX's Starship, with Blue Moon launching first and the rocket set to be as ready as possible at that point.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, NASA teams have completed the initial phase of stacking the twin solid rocket boosters. The agency confirmed that the Core Stage, the element that gives the vehicle its distinctive orange appearance, is scheduled to be integrated between the boosters the following week. Officials displayed a live feed from the building during the briefing. Unlike the full stacks prepared for Artemis I and II, this vehicle will not receive an upper stage or the Orion spacecraft. The resulting "stubby" configuration will roll to Launch Complex 39B for tanking tests.
Those tests are intended to address hydrogen leakage issues experienced at the Tail Service Mast Umbilical interfaces during preparations for the first two missions. NASA began redesigning the TSM umbilicals in April, and the interfaces have undergone redesign work since then. The tanking test, once expected around the present timeframe, is now planned for several months from now.
Because Artemis III uses a low-Earth-orbit profile, no upper stage is required, and a cylindrical spacer will position Orion so that it still mates with existing ground support equipment. Artemis IV is planned to fly an upper stage. Three Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stages were manufactured for the original Block 1 configuration. Two have already flown, and the third was reassigned to Artemis IV after the low-Earth-orbit mission was added. The Exploration Upper Stage that would have created the Block 1B configuration was canceled earlier this year amid cost and schedule overruns, and the production line for the Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, from which the ICPS is derived, has been closed.
NASA has therefore selected United Launch Alliance's Centaur V as the standardized upper stage going forward. Officially confirmed variants include the original high-energy configuration and a low-Earth-orbit-optimized version developed in connection with Amazon's Leo constellation. A stretched-tank variant, previously indicated in job postings, has now been formally confirmed, and NASA will transition to the stretched Centaur while leaving the exact timing open. Artemis IV could fly either the final ICPS or a stretched Centaur V, with the decision point currently set for next summer, near the Artemis III launch window. Selecting Centaur V would require modifications to the Mobile Launcher for ground support connections.
The spacesuit remains a critical-path item for any surface mission. In 2022 NASA awarded service contracts to Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace covering both lunar and International Space Station suits, with the goal of introducing competition and redundancy. Axiom's Extravehicular Mobility Unit, the AxEMU, was found at its 2024 Preliminary Design Review to already exceed its mass allocation. Collins Aerospace withdrew from the contract in 2024, leaving Axiom responsible for both the lunar and zero-gravity suits, and suit testing originally targeted for 2025 was deferred to 2027.
NASA's Office of Inspector General later described the earlier timeline as "overly optimistic," noting that if delays matched historical averages, the suits might not be ready until 2031, too late for a 2028 landing goal. To accelerate availability, NASA has directed Axiom to develop a sortie suit, a lighter and simpler derivative of the AxEMU achieved in part by reducing mass and simplifying interfaces with the landers. The sortie suit will be certified for shorter surface durations of at least two hours at a time, will not be rated for the permanently shadowed regions near the lunar south pole, and will not support the longer, multi-excursion campaigns planned for the full AxEMU. For comparison, Apollo 11's single moonwalk lasted about two and a half hours, while Apollo 17 conducted three excursions totaling more than seven hours. The full-capability AxEMU remains in development.
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