Isaacman ‘gaining confidence’ both landers will participate in Artemis III
By Cat Hofacker
By Cat Hofacker
SPACE SYMPOSIUM, COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — NASA is increasingly optimistic that both lunar lander providers will be able to participate in next year’s Artemis III test, Administrator Jared Isaacman told an audience here.
“I’m gaining confidence by the day that it’ll be both,” Isaacman said during an on-stage interview.
Isaacman in late February announced NASA’s decision to convert Artemis III from the program’s inaugural lunar landing to a crewed demonstration in low-Earth orbit. An Orion crew capsule will practice rendezvous and docking with one or both of the lunar landers in development: SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon.
That test is slated for mid-2027, which NASA hopes will set up two landings in 2028 with the Artemis IV and V missions.
Artemis III hardware is already arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The largest component of the SLS core stage is slated to ship April 20 from New Orleans and arrive in Florida on April 28.
“We have an achievable path to the surface of the moon by 2028,” Isaacman said.
While neither provider has given an in-depth update on its lander configuration and progress, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said last month the company is targeting mid-May for the debut of the version 3, or “v3,” Starship, which is to be the production version.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin last week wrapped up thermal vacuum testing of its Blue Moon Mk 1 lander, a smaller, cargo variant that is to land on the moon later this year.
NASA’s spacesuit contractor, Axiom Space of Texas, is also working with SpaceX and Blue Origin on how their landers interface with the spacesuit, Axiom officials told reporters during a Monday briefing here.
“That for us is a really important step because those interfaces can drive changes on either side,” said Russell Ralston, Axiom’s senior vice president and general manager of extravehicular activity. “But so far, we’re not really tracking any major issues or difficulties.”
NASA hasn’t made a final decision about whether an Axiom suit will fly on Artemis III, noted Jonathan Cirtain, Axiom’s president and CEO.
“The agency’s made it clear we’re going to fly a suit next year,” he said. If not Artemis III, Axiom could send a suit to the International Space Station to test its performance in microgravity.
“We’re going to learn something no matter what,” Cirtain said.
