For many years NASA has aimed to return humans to the Moon’s surface, with Artemis III originally slated to achieve that goal. After the successful Artemis II flyby in April 2026, the timetable was adjusted and the next crewed flight will not occur until 2028. While the revised mission does not include a landing, it still serves an important purpose.
In 2027 NASA intends to test in Earth orbit whether the Orion capsule can safely rendezvous with commercial lunar landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. The two companies will each launch a test article—not a full lander—into Earth orbit to meet Orion. This will verify that Orion can dock with the landers before the same maneuvers are attempted around the Moon.
WIRED en Español spoke with Barbara Cohen, a scientist on the Artemis III team, to learn more about the upcoming flight and the role of humans in an era of increasingly capable robots and sensors.
**What to expect from Artemis III and why it matters**
Cohen explained that Artemis III will be an Earth‑orbiting mission. “We will send Orion with a crew into Earth’s orbit, and the commercial partners will send their test articles to meet up with Orion,” she said. “The goal is to make sure Orion can safely dock with the lunar landers so that future lunar‑orbit operations are reliable.”
**Science on the Artemis program**
She emphasized that the Artemis missions are primarily exploration, not dedicated science missions. “We do them for technology development, for inspiration, and we try to extract the science that the opportunity allows,” Cohen noted. One focus for Artemis III is a rehearsal for returning lunar samples. When samples are taken from the Moon they begin to change as soon as they leave their natural environment. To understand those changes, the crew will deploy small witness materials—such as pieces of aluminum foil, Teflon or ceramic—inside the cabin. After the flight, scientists will examine how the human environment may have altered those materials, helping to refine future sample‑handling procedures.
**Why humans still matter**
When asked about the value of astronauts compared with robotic probes, Cohen replied that robots can capture images, but humans excel at perceiving a wide scene, zooming in on details, and interpreting what they see. “We ask the crew questions like, ‘What do you think is happening in this scene? What might cause that change?’ This pushes them to make observations, draw conclusions and suggest next steps,” she said. Training the crew, flight directors, scientists and engineers to work together is a key part of preparing for surface operations.
Cohen added that Artemis II already incorporated science directly in flight, with a science officer speaking to the crew. “That was a new experience that taught us how crew members want to use their observational skills and how we can support them,” she said.
Overall, Artemis III will serve as a crucial dress rehearsal for future lunar landings, testing docking procedures and gathering data on how human presence affects scientific samples, while also sharpening the human‑in‑the‑loop capabilities that robots alone cannot provide.