What is Artemis III?
Artemis III is NASA's planned crewed lunar landing mission — the third in the Artemis series, following Artemis I (uncrewed test flight, 2022) and Artemis II (crewed lunar flyby). It will be the first time humans have stood on the Moon in over 50 years. The mission will use the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule to travel to lunar orbit, where two of the four crew members will transfer to a SpaceX Starship Human Landing System (HLS) and descend to the surface.
Why the south pole?
The south polar region is of scientific and strategic interest for two reasons. First, permanently shadowed craters near the pole contain water ice, confirmed by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Indian Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Water ice can be electrolysed into hydrogen and oxygen — rocket fuel and breathable atmosphere — making in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) viable. Second, crater rims near the poles receive near-continuous sunlight, providing reliable solar power for a future base.
Learn about the Moon's phases and orbital geometry in our Why the Moon has phases guide.
What happens on the surface?
The landed crew will conduct two or more moonwalks (EVAs) lasting up to several hours. Priorities include collecting samples from terrain that has never been disturbed by sunlight, deploying scientific instruments, and testing ISRU technology. The surface stay is expected to last around a week before the crew re-ascends to Orion for the journey home.