Artemis IV

Mission type	Crewed lunar landing
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	27 days
Distance travelled	800,800 km all up
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Orion CM-005 ESM-4 Blue Moon HLS (potentially) Starship HLS (potentially)
Spacecraft type	SLS
Manufacturer	Orion CM: Lockheed Martin ESM: Airbus Defence and Space Blue Moon: Blue Origin Starship: SpaceX
Expedition
Began	(2026-04-04UTC22:46:18Z) UTC
Ended	1 March 2016 (2016-04Z) UTC
Start of mission
Launch date	Early 2028 (planned)
Rocket	Space Launch System
Launch site	Kennedy, LC‑39B
End of mission
Landing site	Pacific Ocean (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Selenocentric
Periselene altitude	100 km (62 mi)
Aposelene altitude	6,500 km (4,000 mi)
Lunar orbiter
Spacecraft component	Orion and European Service Module
Lunar lander
Spacecraft component	Blue Moon or Starship HLS
Artemis program ← Artemis III Artemis V →

Artemis IV is planned to be the third crewed mission and first lunar landing of the NASA-led Artemis program, marking the first crewed landing on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. It will be the first mission to use the standardized configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS), with a Centaur V upper stage in place of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) flown on the previous SLS launches.^[1][2] The SLS will send an Orion spacecraft carrying the astronaut crew members to lunar orbit.

The mission depends on a prior support flight to place a lunar lander—either SpaceX's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue Moon—into lunar orbit before the crew launch. When Orion docks with the lander the crew will transfer to it, descend to the lunar surface and conduct extravehicular activities there. They will then ascend back to the Orion waiting in lunar orbit, which will return the four astronauts to Earth. As of March 2026^[update], launch is scheduled for May 2028.^[1]

Before February 2026, Artemis IV was proposed as the program's second lunar landing mission.

Artemis IV will rely on a prior support flight to place a Human Landing System (HLS) lunar lander—either SpaceX's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue Moon—into lunar orbit. After the lander is in orbit, the SLS will send an Orion spacecraft carrying the astronaut crew to rendezvous with the lander.

The spacecraft could meet in an Elliptical Polar Orbit with Coplanar Line of Apsides and dock. This orbit has a perilune of 100 kilometers (62 mi; 54 nmi), minimizing the number and duration of burns the HLS must perform to reach the lunar surface, and an apolune of 6,500 kilometers (4,000 mi; 3,500 nmi) to accommodate the limited propulsion of Orion's European Service Module, which cannot depart from a low lunar orbit.^[3]

Once docked, the crew will transfer to the lander, descend to the lunar surface, conduct extravehicular activities, and then return to Orion in lunar orbit for the journey back to Earth.^[4]

The Space Launch System (SLS) is a super-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit. This mission's core stage will use RS-25 engines E2044, E2050, E2051, and E2063.^[5][6] This will be the first mission to use the standardized configuration of the SLS, with a Centaur V upper stage in place of the ICPS flown on the previous SLS launches.^[1][2]

Orion is the crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It comprises the Orion Crew Module and the European Service Module and will transport the crew from Earth to Lunar orbit, dock to the lander, and return them to Earth.^[7]

Artemis IV will use one of NASA's two Human Landing System lunar landers: SpaceX's Starship HLS or Blue Origin's Blue Moon. The choice of lander will depend on the results of the low-Earth orbit rendezvous and docking tests conducted during Artemis III in mid-2027, as well as each company's readiness to deliver a spacecraft.^[1]

• List of Artemis missions
• List of missions to the Moon
• Apollo 11, the first lunar landing of the Apollo program