NASA Revises Lunar Lander Plans for 2028 Moon Missions

NASA has revised its lunar landing plans with Blue Origin and SpaceX to accelerate the return of American astronauts to the Moon in 2028. Announced on October 23, 2026, the changes introduce new orbital rendezvous procedures and revised lander operations as the agency prepares for crewed missions and a long-term lunar presence. According to NASA, the agency has redefined Artemis III to demonstrate rendezvous and docking between test versions of both companies' landers and the Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit next year.

The companies are also developing crewed and cargo landers for upcoming Artemis missions. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the revised approach supports the administration's space policy and the goal of establishing a Moon Base. The agency will determine which company is ready to conduct the first crewed landing in 2028 based on lander readiness.

"We are executing President Trump's National Space Policy to complete the long-awaited return of American astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028 and establish a Moon Base," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

NASA said its initial Artemis crews will launch aboard Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During lunar missions, two astronauts will descend to the surface in a commercial lander while two remain aboard Orion. Both companies must complete uncrewed demonstration missions before their landers can carry astronauts. NASA will certify the systems before crewed flights to verify safety and mission readiness.

Under SpaceX's revised plan, multiple Starships will launch into low Earth orbit to transfer cryogenic propellant to a depot spacecraft. The depot will then fuel the Starship Human Landing System (HLS) before its journey to the Moon. The Starship lander will rendezvous and dock with Orion in Earth orbit. It will then perform a trans-lunar injection burn to send the combined spacecraft toward low lunar orbit, a change NASA says will reduce propellant requirements and shorten the time needed for astronauts returning from the lunar surface to reconnect with Orion.

SpaceX will test its in-space propellant aggregation approach during an uncrewed demonstration mission. NASA is also working to modify Orion so Starship can push the spacecraft toward the Moon. Blue Origin has adopted a different architecture for its accelerated 2028 mission.

The company will defer propellant transfer and use three transfer stages to propel its Blue Moon Mark 2 Alpha lander toward the Moon. The stages and lander will assemble in low Earth orbit before departing for an elliptical polar orbit around the Moon. Each transfer stage will separate after exhausting its propellant, according to NASA.

NASA said the elliptical polar orbit offers faster returns from the lunar surface to Orion, lowers the lander's propellant requirements and makes better use of the Space Launch System's capabilities. The architecture also provides multiple opportunities for Orion and its crew to reach the orbit and dock with the lander.

Two astronauts will transfer to Blue Moon and descend to the Moon's South Pole. After completing surface operations, they will return to Orion for the trip back to Earth. Blue Origin will incorporate lessons from earlier robotic Mark 1 missions supporting NASA's Moon Base Program.

The company must also demonstrate the full mission profile through an uncrewed mission involving its lander transfer stages. NASA plans two initial crewed landing opportunities, with the second following the first successful mission. The agency is targeting two lunar surface excursions, each lasting approximately two hours, during the initial surface missions.

During those excursions, astronauts will collect lunar samples and test spacesuit capabilities provided by Axiom Space. NASA will select the first company to deliver astronauts safely to the lunar surface and return them to lunar orbit based on the readiness of the competing lander systems.