Skip to main content

Trio of Orion spacecraft prepped for NASA moon missions

Three NASA Orion spacecraft in production.
NASA/Lockheed Martin

NASA has shared an image of three spacecraft that will play a central role in its next three Artemis missions to the moon.

Having already successfully tested the Orion spacecraft on a lunar flyby at the end of last year after being blasted into space by NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket, the American space agency is now overseeing the building of three more Orion capsules for upcoming Artemis missions.

In the image (top), the Orion craft for Artemis II is seen on the right, inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis III is on the left and Artemis IV in the middle.

Orion manufacturer Lockheed Martin tweeted the same image with the comment: “The future of @NASA_Orion is looking pretty good.”

Seeing triple! 🤯

The future of @NASA_Orion is looking pretty good! The crew modules for #Artemis II, III and IV are in different production phases at @NASAKennedy in preparation for bringing astronauts back to the Moon. pic.twitter.com/aFjPrUy0Iq

— Lockheed Martin Space (@LMSpace) July 14, 2023

Each Orion capsule is in a different stage of production as technicians and engineers prepare the spacecraft to carry astronauts toward the moon on the upcoming missions, NASA said.

Technicians recently installed the heat shield on the Artemis II crew module, and teams are aiming to carry out acoustic testing in the next few months. When ready, the crew module will be linked to the service module in preparation for the lunar mission.

Artemis II is currently scheduled for November 2024 and will carry NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, plus Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The astronauts won’t land on the moon but instead perform a flyby, coming within a short distance of the lunar surface before returning home.

A successful mission will pave the way for Artemis III, which will endeavor to put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. In this mission, Orion will carry the astronauts to a lunar orbit where they’ll transfer to a modified version of SpaceX’s Starship lander. While currently slated for 2025, sticking to that date depends to some extent on the progress SpaceX makes with the testing of its Super Heavy and Starship vehicle.

Artemis IV, meanwhile, is planned for 2028 and will also put astronauts onto the lunar surface.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
NASA reveals new date for Crew-7 mission to space station
The International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab.

The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission inside SpaceX Hangar X at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. From left to right: Konstantin Borisov, Andreas Mogensen, Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa. SpaceX

UPDATE: NASA had moved the targeted launch date from August 17 to August 21. But it's now targeting Friday, August 25. This article has been updated to reflect the change.

Read more
NASA’s skywatching tips for August include a famous meteor shower
samsung galaxy s21 ultra vs huawei p40 pro plus 10x zoom shootout moon

What's Up: August 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA

NASA has just released its monthly update on what to look out for in the skies over the next few weeks, with Saturn, the Perseid meteors, and a "super blue moon" all featuring.
Saturn
With Venus and Mars having slipped from view for the time being, we can turn our gaze toward Saturn instead. The second planet in our solar system reaches opposition this month, meaning it's directly opposite the sun as seen from Earth. It'll be appearing just after sunset and will remain visible until dawn, giving us plenty of time to check it out. On the morning of August 3, Saturn will be viewable right beside the moon.

Read more
NASA hears Voyager ‘heartbeat’ as it tries to reconnect with spacecraft
An artist's concept of the Voyager 2 spacecraft

NASA has received a signal from the Voyager 2 spacecraft that it accidentally lost contact with on July 21.

Communications with the famous spacecraft, which launched in 1977 and is currently around 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, were cut after NASA “inadvertently” sent it a command that caused its antenna to point 2 degrees away from Earth.

Read more