ArtemisIV is planned to be the third crewed mission and first lunar landing of the NASA-led Artemis program, marking the first crewed landing on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. It will be the first mission to use the standardized configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS), with a Centaur V upper stage in place of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) flown on the previous SLS launches. The SLS will send an Orion spacecraft carrying the astronaut crew members to lunar orbit.
The mission depends on a prior support flight to place a lunar landerâÂÂeither SpaceX's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue MoonâÂÂinto lunar orbit before the crew launch. When Orion docks with the lander the crew will transfer to it, descend to the lunar surface and conduct extravehicular activities (EVAs) there. They will then ascend back to the Orion waiting in lunar orbit, which will return the four astronauts to Earth. , launch is scheduled for early 2028.
Before February 2026, Artemis IV was proposed as the program's second lunar landing mission, sending an Orion with four astronauts to the Lunar Gateway space station, where they would install the I-Hab module, before heading down to the lunar surface.
Artemis IV will rely on a prior support flight to place a Human Landing System (HLS) lunar landerâÂÂeither SpaceX's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue MoonâÂÂinto lunar orbit. After the lander is in orbit, the Space Launch System (SLS) will send an Orion spacecraft carrying the astronaut crew to rendezvous with the lander.
The spacecraft could meet in an Elliptical Polar Orbit with Coplanar Line of Apsides (EPO/CoLA) and dock. This orbit has a perilune of , minimizing the number and duration of burns the HLS must perform to reach the lunar surface, and an apolune of to accommodate the limited propulsion of Orion's European Service Module, which cannot depart from a low lunar orbit.
Once docked, the crew will transfer to the lander, descend to the lunar surface, conduct extravehicular activities (EVAs), and then return to Orion in lunar orbit for the journey back to Earth.
The Space Launch System (SLS) is a super-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit. This mission's core stage will use RS-25 engines E2044, E2050, E2051, and E2063. This will be the first mission to use the standardized configuration of the SLS, with a Centaur V upper stage in place of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) flown on the previous SLS launches.
Orion is the crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It comprises the Orion Crew Module and the European Service Module and will transport the crew from Earth to Lunar orbit, dock to the lander, and return them to Earth.
Artemis IV will use one of NASA's two Human Landing System lunar landers: SpaceX's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue Moon. The choice of lander will depend on the results of the low-Earth orbit rendezvous and docking tests conducted during Artemis III in mid-2027, as well as each company's readiness to deliver a spacecraft.