The Artemis III mission will fly to the moon no earlier than the end 2027 year, as the original flight plan was deemed too over-tasked and risky: astronauts had to
b to dock for the first time and board a Starship or Blue Moon without first practicing complex maneuvers for 380 thousand km from Earth.
According to the updated version, NASA will launch the Orion spacecraft with a crew, which will have to dock with one or two lunar landing modules in Earth orbit. An intermediate mission is a necessary stage to practice skills before further flights to the Moon. Details of the flight are under discussion. In particular, the question of the height of the orbit and the configuration of the SLS superheavy rocket is being resolved. The low Earth orbit will allow to save the already ready upper stage of the SLS rocket for the next mission with a landing on the moon. In future, after stocks of available upper stages are exhausted, NASA will equip the SLS rocket with new Centaur V commercial units from United Launch Alliance.
For reference: United Launch Alliance is a leading American aerospace company, which specializes in launching spacecraft for the US government (in particular, the Ministry of Defense and NASA)
and commercial customers.
As of today, the question remains open: which vehicle Orion will dock with - SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's Blue Moon? NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, that both companies have confirmed their readiness to provide docking and compatibility testing of modules by the end of 2027. Despite receiving multibillion-dollar contracts from NASA, SpaceX and Blue Origin are directing substantial capital investment into the development of manned lunar modules.
Starship and Blue Moon are much larger than the Apollo-era modules. In the future, they can be refueled in lunar orbit for multiple trips between the surface and orbital cargo stations. Isaacman emphasized, that thanks to this possibility they will not only be able to return to the moon, and to create a permanent base there. Complex tests require equipping missiles with autonomous life support systems, certified engines, piloted cabins and docking stations. It should be noted, that a mission in Earth orbit removes the need for complex refueling in space, which is mandatory for a flight to the moon.
Source: https://arstechnica.com