NASA laid out a faster Artemis plan on Friday, AP and Ars Technica reported. Artemis III would test Orion docking with lander prototypes in Earth orbit in summer 2027. A crewed moon landing remains targeted for 2028 on Artemis IV.

Administrator Jared Isaacman said the Artemis III flight would keep four astronauts in Earth orbit and would not go to the moon, AP reported. He called it a two-week docking exercise next summer with Elon Musk's and Jeff Bezos' lunar landers. Orion would dock first with a Blue Origin craft about 270 miles above Earth, then with SpaceX's Starship in a slightly lower orbit, AP said. The mission needs three launches in quick succession from Cape Canaveral.

For later landings, Ars Technica said the revised SpaceX path has Orion dock with a Starship lander in high-Earth orbit before the trip to the moon. Blue Origin's plan uses four New Glenn launches and no craft-to-craft refuelings for early missions. NASA also said it is working with United Launch Alliance on an extended Centaur V upper stage so Orion can reach low lunar orbit, Ars Technica reported.

Isaacman said NASA will keep options open before choosing between SpaceX and Blue Origin for the Artemis IV lander, AP reported. A NASA safety panel had cited about 22 tanker launches for Starship refueling. Musk said the real number would be six to eight. Isaacman called that the ultimate end state, not a promise for day one, Ars Technica said.

What we know: NASA says Artemis III is a 2027 Earth-orbit docking test and still aims for a 2028 crewed landing on Artemis IV.
What we don't: Which lander flies the first landing, or how many tanker launches Starship will need in practice.