WASHINGTON, USA, Oct. 23, 2026 - NASA laid out a revised Artemis plan on 23 October.^[1] The first crewed Moon landing since Apollo is now Artemis IV, targeted for 2028,^[2][3] at the lunar South Pole,^[4] and NASA will delay choosing between SpaceX and Blue Origin as the lander provider for as long as possible.^[5][6] Before then, Artemis III becomes a test flight close to home. It is planned for summer 2027^[7] as a two-week mission^[8] in low Earth orbit,^[9] where the crew will rehearse docking the Orion spacecraft with lunar landers.^[10] Administrator Jared Isaacman said it will test docking with both companies' landers.^[11] The crew will dock with Blue Origin's Blue Moon for two days^[12] but will not enter SpaceX's Starship.^[13] The crew is Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Luca Parmitano.^[14] Uncrewed landing test flights are required before any crewed landing,^[15] and NASA will then pick either SpaceX or Blue Origin to carry the first Artemis IV crew.^[16] Impact Insight. Landing people on the Moon again rebuilds the heavy-lift, deep-space navigation and crew-survival skills that any mission beyond low Earth orbit needs. The link to planetary defense is indirect: the same rockets and operations could one day help study or deflect a hazardous asteroid.