NASA is working with U.S. industry to develop a human landing system that will safely transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back throughout the agency’s Artemis mission.
For Artemis III, the first manned return to the moon in more than 50 years, NASA is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS). Newly updated conceptual artist renderings show Starship HLS docking with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit before the two Artemis crew members transfer from Orion to Starship and descend to the surface. Shown. There, the astronauts will collect samples, perform scientific experiments, and observe the lunar environment before flying back to Orion, which awaits them in lunar orbit in a Starship. Prior to the manned Artemis III mission, SpaceX will conduct an unmanned landing demonstration mission on the moon.
NASA is also working with SpaceX to further develop the company’s Starship lander to meet Artemis IV’s set of expansion requirements. Those requirements include landing more mass on the Moon and docking with the agency’s Gateway Lunar Space Station to transport crew.
With Artemis, NASA will explore the moon more than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Exploration Ground System, and Orion spacecraft, as well as the Manned Landing System, Next Generation Spacesuit, Gateway Lunar Space Station, and future spacecraft are the foundation of NASA’s deep space exploration.
For more information about HLS, see below.
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/human-landing-system
Colin Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256.544.0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
