SpaceX and NASA have released new artwork detailing how the company’s Starship rocket might ferry Artemis astronauts to the surface of the moon.
The renders show a variety of maneuvers and steps that SpaceX’s reusable Starship vehicle will be required to perform as part of NASA’s current plan for the Artemis 3 moon mission, currently slated for no earlier than 2026.
Under the current mission architecture, Starship (a version of it known as the Human Landing System) will dock in lunar orbit with NASA’s Orion spacecraft Artemis astronauts will move from the capsule into the SpaceX vehicle. From there, Starship will take the astronauts down to the surface of the moon, placing human boots on our lunar companion for the first time since 1972.
In one of the images, a sleek, white version of Starship’s Human Landing System (HLS) docks nose-to-nose with Orion in orbit around the moon. During this part of the mission, NASA’s Artemis 3 astronauts would transfer from Orion into HLS.
One of the renders show two Starships, one normal configuration and one HLS variant, docking belly to belly in order to transfer fuel from one to the other. Because HLS will be carrying heavy equipment destined for the moon, it will use up a lot of fuel escaping Earth’s gravity. It will need to be refueled on its journey to the moon, so SpaceX is developing an orbital propellant transfer technique. The company tested a different version of the transfer on Starship’s third integrated flight test.
As seen in the images, this HLS variant of Starship has a significantly different configuration than the standard version of the spacecraft. The HLS in the renders has windows for the crew to look out of, and does not feature the fins found on typical Starship variants.
The HLS in these new illustrations also features a sleek white finish, as opposed to the stainless steel finish dotted with black thermal protection tiles seen on other Starships.
One of the renders shows two astronauts in Axiom Space moon suits making their way down to the lunar surface in an elevator.
Two astronauts, Axiom Space’s Peggy Whitson and NASA’s Doug Wheelock, tested such a capability in June 2024 when they donned Axiom’s suits and carried out tests using an HLS mockup at SpaceX headquarters in California. The test confirmed that there is enough space in the planned HLS airlock, deck and elevator for astronauts to carry out their mission while in Axiom’s suits.
Another illustration portrays SpaceX’s Starship HLS with two of its six Raptor engines lit as it performs a braking burn prior to attempting to land on the moon.
NASA has delayed Artemis 3 until September 2026, after setting an initial target of 2024. The delays are due to hardware development problems, including issues with Orion’s heat shield and the prolonged development timeline that SpaceX has faced getting Starship ready for orbital flight.
SpaceX’s proposed timelines for Starship have been optimistic, to say the least. The company’s president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, said in 2019 that the company would be landing cargo on Mars with Starship “in five years.”
Five years later, in 2024, Starship has yet to complete an orbital flight, although the company has made significant progress on each of the rocket’s six test flights.