Artemis V (Artemis 5)
Announced
Artemis V is the mission NASA has said the least about since the February 2026 renumbering: a lunar surface mission on the standardized SLS configuration, anticipated by late 2028 (as of July 17, 2026), and the point where NASA expects to begin building its Moon base. No crew and no lander are assigned. Much of the older web still describes the pre-renumbering Artemis V plan, which NASA has not re-affirmed.
Facts as of July 17, 2026, from the NASA sources listed below.
late 2028
Anticipated launch (by)
1/year
Cadence after
0
Crew assigned yet
Targets are NASA's current plan (as of July 17, 2026) and can change.
Announced, not flown. Dates and details on this page describe NASA's current plan and can change; every claim carries its announcement date. The Artemis schedule has been restructured before (February 27, 2026).
01Mission facts
| Mission type | Lunar surface mission on the standardized configuration of the SLS rocket |
| Moon base | The mission where NASA expects to begin building its Moon base |
| Place in the campaign | Follows Artemis III (LEO demonstration, mid-2027) and Artemis IV (first crewed landing, early 2028) |
| Lander | None assigned under the renumbered campaign; the pre-2026 Blue Moon MK2 assignment has not been re-affirmed |
02Crew
The crew is not yet announced.
03The mission
Under the architecture NASA announced on February 27, 2026 and detailed on March 3, Artemis V is a lunar surface mission flying the standardized configuration of the SLS rocket. NASA anticipates launching it by late 2028 (as of July 17, 2026), with future missions about once per year after that.
A NASA Human Landing System article from May 7, 2026 says the Artemis III docking operations "will pave the way for Artemis IV and V in 2028, which will return NASA astronauts to the Moon."
Much of what used to define Artemis V has not been re-affirmed. When NASA selected Blue Origin as its second lander provider on May 19, 2023, that contract placed the crewed Blue Moon demonstration on Artemis V in 2029, with crew transfer at the Gateway station. NASA’s post-renumbering pages assign no lander to Artemis V, and NASA announced on March 24, 2026 that it intends to pause Gateway in its current form. NASA’s Office of Inspector General noted on March 10, 2026 that the lander contracts still use the old mission numbering.
The hardware itself is still moving: a full-scale mock-up of the Blue Moon MK2 crew cabin arrived at NASA Johnson for astronaut training and mission simulations in May 2026. What NASA has not said is which Artemis mission that lander flies. No Artemis V crew has been announced (as of July 17, 2026).
Until NASA says more, azmth treats Artemis V as a late 2028 target with an unassigned lander and an unassigned crew.
04Claims to treat as outdated
Older articles commonly state that Artemis V flies Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK2, docks with Gateway, or launches in 2029. All three claims trace to the May 2023 contract award under the pre-renumbering mission sequence, and NASA has not re-affirmed any of them since February 2026. Calling Artemis V "the second crewed landing" is likewise an inference NASA’s current pages do not make.
05Sources
- NASA: Artemis V event page (March 2026)
- NASA: Artemis architecture announcement (Feb 27, 2026)
- NASA: Artemis campaign page
- NASA: national space policy initiatives, Gateway pause (Mar 24, 2026)
- NASA OIG: HLS contracts audit IG-26-004 (Mar 10, 2026)
- NASA: Blue Origin selected as second lander provider (May 19, 2023, pre-renumbering)
- NASA: Blue Moon MK2 training cabin at NASA (May 7, 2026)
azmth is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.