What NASA is announcing
NASA planned to give an update on its Artemis moon program at a press conference at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to Space. The event was set for 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Friday, Oct. 23, and NASA made a livestream available.
In an Oct. 14 media advisory, NASA officials said the update would include details on the Artemis III mission and on how plans to return American astronauts to the moon by 2028 are progressing. The advisory said Artemis III would send four astronauts to low Earth orbit next year to test critical systems needed for future lunar landings.
Space reported that three agency officials would take part in the "Artemis Acceleration" event. The article named NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya and Jeremy Parsons, NASA's Artemis program manager.
What Artemis III is meant to do
NASA is currently preparing for Artemis III, which is targeted for mid-2027, according to Space. Despite the mission's number, it will not land on the moon. It will test rendezvous and docking technologies between NASA's Orion capsule and one or both of the private spacecraft NASA selected as the program's crewed lunar landers.
Those landers are SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon. Orion would have to link up reliably with a lander in space before astronauts could use either vehicle to reach the lunar surface, which is why the mission is described as a test of systems for future landings.
Headlines from other outlets listed alongside the Space story point to the same subject. Florida Today reported that NASA says it is on track to launch Artemis III astronauts in summer 2027. SpaceNews reported that NASA advisers have raised new concerns about the lunar landing plans. The summary did not include the content of either report.
The path to a landing
Artemis IV would follow Artemis III. If all goes to plan, it would land astronauts near the lunar south pole in early 2028, according to Space. That would be the first crewed moon touchdown since Apollo 17 in 1972.
It is unclear which lander will fly on Artemis IV, Space reported. The choice depends on how development of each vehicle progresses and on what happens during Artemis III. Space added that more landings are expected after Artemis IV.
A moon base and a space race
NASA plans to establish a moon base through Artemis, Space reported. Doing so will require a variety of missions, both robotic and crewed. A headline from local station WESH also referred to plans for a permanent moon base as part of the update.
Space said the agency feels some urgency because China has similar goals. Military and political officials have said it is important for the U.S. to win this new space race so the nation can help set norms of responsible behavior on the moon, according to the outlet.
The source material did not detail what was said at the briefing itself, so any new schedule changes or commitments from the event are not covered here.
