Nasa's Artemis III mission, scheduled for September 2026, will depend significantly on SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System (HLS) to transport astronauts to the Moon.
Artistic images have been released showcasing plans for the historic mission. The Starship HLS will retrieve two Artemis crew members from the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit and safely land them on the Moon's surface.
Before departing for the Moon, the Starship will require refueling in low Earth orbit. A Starship tanker, preloaded with propellant, will rendezvous with the HLS to transfer fuel.
SpaceX plans to conduct an in-flight propellant test between the two Starship vehicles in March 2025. Following this, the Starship will perform a breaking burn with its Raptor engines to descend to the lunar surface, where astronauts will utilize an elevator aboard the HLS to collect samples.
Notably, the Starship HLS stands approximately 164 feet tall, comparable to a 15-story building. An uncrewed lunar landing test is also planned prior to the Artemis III mission, following the recent completion of the rocket's sixth test flight.