Artemis moon landing plans: Apollo's bold, unruly and controversial successor

"The Starship rocket system splits in two after takeoff. The upper spacecraft would head to Earth orbit to serve as that depot, ready to carry nothing but fuel. The towering Super Heavy rocket booster, meanwhile, would return to the launch site so it can be reused."

"Multiple Starship fuel tanker flights would then need to launch to aggregate enough propellant for a moon landing it's not clear how many. Estimates have suggested the number is between 10 and 40, CNN has reported. Transferring cryogenic propellants, the type of fuel Starship needs, in orbit has never been attempted before."

"This approach is far different from that of the Apollo era, when the astronauts launched to space with everything they needed onboard with them including a lunar lander. Artemis III, however, requires more powerful vehicles that must launch separately."

NASA's Artemis III mission employs a fundamentally different approach than Apollo, requiring separate launches of the Starship fuel depot system and the Orion spacecraft carrying astronauts. The Starship rocket splits after takeoff, with the upper spacecraft serving as an orbital gas station while the Super Heavy booster returns for reuse. Multiple fuel tanker flights, estimated between 10 and 40, must launch to aggregate sufficient propellant for the lunar landing. The Starship lunar lander docks with the depot to refuel before heading to the moon. Meanwhile, four astronauts launch from Kennedy Space Center aboard Orion atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket for a three-day journey to the moon, conducting research during transit.

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