The POT and SpaceX have published a series of conceptual images showing how the rocket Starship will land on the Moon with the astronauts of the mission Artemis III. After the success of Artemis I in 2022, Artemis IIthe first manned mission of the space program, was going to take place this 2024, but finally NASA delayed it to 2025which also meant that Artemis IIIin which humans will set foot on the Moon again, will move to September 2026as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the space agency and Elon Musk’s company continue working to develop the Human Landing System (HLS) Starship.
He Starship HLSa modified version of the Starship moon landing rocket, will be an essential part of Artemis III. This module will take astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. Additionally, it will function as a space base which will allow astronauts to spend more time on the Moon than has been possible until now.
SLS, Orion, and Starship HLS In-Orbit Refueling
Contrary to what might be expected, the Starship rocket will not take the 4 Artemis III astronauts directly to the Moon, but rather they will take off from Earth aboard the Orion capsule, powered by NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)the second most powerful rocket in the world after SpaceX.
However, neither Orion nor SLS can land humans on the Moon. For that reason, Starship HLS will launch before the Orion spacecraft enters low Earth orbit. It will be at this point where the Starship HLS will dock with another Starship to resupply the necessary fuel to reach the Moon, land and then return to Orion, which will be orbiting the satellite. To achieve this, SpaceX is developing a technology to transfer fuel in orbit that began testing on the third Starship flight.
Differences between Starship and Starship HLS
New renders released by SpaceX show some differences between the standard Starship and the HLS. While the first has an exterior of polished stainless steelthe second appears covered in white thermal paint. Additionally, it will not have flight control fins, since the HLS will not return to Earththus eliminating the heavy black thermal tiles required for re-entry. Instead, it will have insulating tiles painted white to reflect solar radiation. These modifications allow us to reduce weight and carry more fuel, in addition to the scientific instruments necessary for Artemis III.
Starship HLS docking with Orion and astronaut transfer
In-orbit resupply will not be the only time the HLS docks with another spacecraft. Once HLS and Orion reach lunar orbit, both ships will dock and two of the four Artemis III astronauts will transfer to the Starship. This will occur in a stable lunar orbit called Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO).

The HLS is It will then undock from Orion and begin its descent towards the lunar surface, while the two remaining astronauts remain in orbit in the capsule, which will not return to the landing area until six days later.
In a publication accompanying the new images, NASA explains that the HLS will turn on 2 Raptor engines to perform a braking maneuver before landing on the Moon, reducing its speed for the lunar landing.

Due to the lower lunar gravity, The Starship does not need as much power as on Earth. For example, during the recent Super Heavy booster recovery test, 13 of the 33 Raptor engines to stop the decline.
SpaceX and NASA will conduct a series of tests before Artemis III, including an in-orbit resupply test and an unmanned landing on the Moon.
There are some differences between the new images and those published by SpaceX in 2021when NASA chose the company to take astronauts to the Moon. The number of windows has increased from 4 to 10 and the number of engines has increased from 12 to 18.
Artemis III Moon Base
The final render shows the HLS astronauts in spacesuits designed by Axiom Space descending to the lunar surface in a elevator.

These astronauts will have 6 days to perform experiments, collect samples and explore the lunar south polea region never before visited by humans. This mission will mark longest continuous time of human presence on the Moonsurpassing the current record of 75 hours established by the Apollo 17.
Once this period has elapsed, the astronauts will return to lunar orbit with the Starship HLS, where will dock again with Orion, a capsule with which the 4 astronauts will return to Earth.
With 50 meters high and 9 meters in diameterthe Starship is much larger than the Apollo lunar module, providing ample space for astronauts during their stay on the Moon.
NASA considers the Artemis program to be the first step toward establishing a permanent lunar base. This base will take advantage of the ice waterwhich is believed to be abundant at the lunar south pole, for sustained exploration on the satellite and will serve as a platform for future missions to other places in the solar system, including Mars.