Artemis astronauts will shift from Orion to Starship in space to reach Moon's surface

NASA has released artistic images of its plans to land humans on the Moon. The Artemis III mission is scheduled for September 2026 and the American space agency is working with SpaceX to undertake the historic mission. NASA and SpaceX are working together to create a version of the Starship that can transport astronauts to the lunar surface.

SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) will play a pivotal role in the mission. The company also has some innovative refuelling plans, doing so in Earth orbit. 

The Starship HLS will give the astronauts a special ride en route to the Moon. It would pick up two Artemis crew members from the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit, and drop them off safely on the surface of the Moon. 

The Starship would also need to refuel before leaving Earth's orbit for the Moon. For this, a Starship tanker, loaded with propellant would be waiting for it in low Earth orbit. The two would meet in orbit where the tanker will transfer the propellant to the Starship HLS.

SpaceX says it will be testing the method in low Earth orbit soon. An in-flight propellant test between the two Starship vehicles might happen in March 2025.

Also Read: Musk gets his way as Starship is cleared for many more test flights

Astronauts will move from Orion to Starship

In what sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi film, the Starship will first head to lunar orbit. The Orion crew capsule with four astronauts would travel next to the Moon where the Starship would be waiting for it. Starship HLS will dock directly to Orion, letting two astronauts move to the lunar lander. The other two astronauts would wait for them on the Orion in lunar orbit.

The Starship would then perform a breaking burn using two of its Raptor engines and descend on the lunar surface. The astronauts would use the elevator aboard the HLS to descend to the Moon's surface. They would collect samples and use the elevator to transfer them to the lunar lander.

Notably, the Starship HLS is around as tall as a 15-story building and about 164 feet in height.

SpaceX is due to perform an uncrewed lunar landing using the Starship before the historic mission. The rocket recently completed its sixth test flight.