Will NASA achieve the crewed lunar landing of the Artemis III mission before the end of 2027?

Artemis III: A Tight Deadline

As of late 2025, the official target for the crewed Artemis III lunar landing has slipped to no earlier than **mid-2027**. This mission relies heavily on the readiness of the **SpaceX Starship Human Landing System (HLS)**, which faces significant development and flight testing milestones. The 'No' vote leads because the history of NASA's large-scale programs and the unprecedented complexity of integrating the Starship HLS make meeting this mid-2027 deadline highly ambitious. Delays in components like the Orion heat shield and the final HLS test flights often push back the schedule.