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NASA has shared a list of potential locations for the first human lunar landing since the Apollo era. NASA, along with SpaceX, will fly to the Moon on the Artemis III mission using its Space Launch System (SLS) and SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System (HLS) lander. The mission, slated to take place sometime in 2026, barring potential delays to the Orion or SpaceX's Starship, will be the first human presence on the lunar South Pole in history.
According to the agency, it has identified nine potential Artemis III locations and a landing on any of them will be the first time a human has set foot. The regions are on the lunar South Pole, and NASA added that it has worked with industry partners to make the selection.
NASA Unveils Landing Sites For History's First Human Landing On Moon's South Pole
NASA's plan to land the first humans on the Moon since the Apollo program and the first on the South Pole in history relies on three distinct launch and landing vehicles. The astronauts will leave Earth on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. They will rendezvous with SpaceX's Starship HLS, a customized variant of the upper stage Starship, and then land on the Moon.
The return journey will be on Orion, with Starship using the Raptor engines to lift off from the lunar surface and then transfer the crew to NASA's ship. SpaceX is currently testing the full Starship stack in Texas, and NASA's latest bit on the Artemis III lunar landing sites shares nine potential locations on the South Pole. According to the agency's release, the "regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability." As part of the decision making process, NASA used data from its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and other scientific research.
The nine regions identified by NASA are the Peak near Cabeus B, Slater Plain, de Gerlache Rim 2, Mons Mouton, Haworth, Malapert Massif, Nobile Rim 1, Mons Mouton Plateau and Nobile Rim 2. The agency is open to selecting new regions, and it adds that the criterion for selection included "science potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability, communication capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions."
NASA outlines that each region is capable of providing insights into understanding the history of the solar system, rocky planets and lunar resources. The list of nine Artemis III Moon landing regions doesn't mean NASA is finished with the selection process. It will continue to scan the entire South Pole region of the Moon to identify locations for future missions such as Artemis IV.
Additionally, NASA will narrow down the final landing location after Artemis III's landing date is finalized. This is important since it will "dictate transfer trajectories, or orbital paths, and surface environment conditions."
The Artemis III landing data will depend on several factors. After NASA's Orion spacecraft returned to Earth in 2022 following the Artemis I mission, the agency has been busy evaluating heat shield anomalies on the ship. Recent official comments indicated that the malfunction's root cause has been determined. Additionally, since SpaceX's Starship HLS will ferry astronauts to the lunar surface, future Starship tests that demonstrate in space propellant transfer will enable SpaceX to lock in technology development timelines for Artemis III.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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