Two landers in one test campaign

NASA has changed the role of Artemis III. Rather than proceeding directly to a landing, the 2027 mission is intended to test rendezvous and docking between Orion and test versions of the SpaceX and Blue Origin lunar vehicles in low Earth orbit. Both companies must also conduct separate uncrewed demonstrations of their crewed landing systems before missions that put people on the surface.

The earlier assignment, with Starship tied to Artemis III and IV and Blue Moon assigned to Artemis V, no longer applies. NASA will decide which system first carries a crew to the surface in 2028 according to readiness. The other supplier is intended to receive the next landing opportunity.

The architectures take different routes

In SpaceX's concept, several tanker Starships transfer cryogenic propellant to an orbital depot. A fueled Starship HLS then docks with Orion near Earth and sends the combined stack toward low lunar orbit. NASA is studying changes Orion would need for that trip, while SpaceX must separately demonstrate propellant aggregation without a crew.

Blue Origin is deferring orbital propellant transfer. Its plan sends Blue Moon Mark 2 toward the Moon with three transfer stages that separate in sequence. Both concepts reduce dependence on the previously planned Gateway-related lunar orbit, but remain announced architectures. Certification, uncrewed demonstrations and hardware readiness are not complete.

Sources