NASA scraps 2027 Artemis III moon landing in favor of 2028 mission

By Claire Cameron edited by Lee Billings

NASA will not land astronauts on the moon in 2027, the space agency’s administrator Jared Isaacman announced on Friday. Instead the agency will rejigger its planned Artemis III mission to test in-orbit capabilities such as using the astronauts’ space suits in microgravity and rendezvousing with at least one of the spacecraft that NASA hopes to use as a lunar lander.

NASA will then attempt to two crewed lunar landings in 2028 as part of Artemis IV and Artemis V. The decision represents a major schedule shift for the agency, which has been pushing for years to make Artemis III the mission that will land astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than half a century.

The announcement comes after NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission encountered more problems with its rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), last week. As a result, NASA has had to scrap a target March launch, which already represented a delay from its initial time line. The SLS, which now has helium flow issues, had already encountered hydrogen leaks and other problems that had caused its launch window to slip earlier this year—and similar issues had caused months of delays for the rocket’s first launch in the uncrewed Artemis I mission. The next launch window for Artemis II opens in early April.

On supporting science journalism

If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

At a press conference on Friday, Isaacman said NASA was confident that increasing the cadence of SLS launches to once every 10 months or so would result in less risk and more mission success.

“I’m excited because I think we have a path here to actually get the job done within the time frames that we’ve targeted right now,” Isaacman said. NASA needs to rebuild its “core competencies,” he said, adding that the agency will work to standardize the SLS production so that the time between launches can be reduced as much as possible. Currently, the period between the last SLS launch for Artemis I and the upcoming missions will be more than three years.

“There is simply a right and wrong way to go about doing this,” Isaacman said. “Launching every three years and … massive changes in the configuration of vehicle is not a recipe for success.”

Editor’s Note (2/27/26): This is a developing story and may be updated.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.