Artemis III crew to begin training inside mockup of Orion spacecraft

(CBS, KYMA) - Starting Wednesday, the new crew for NASA's next Artemis mission will train inside a mockup of the Orion spacecraft.

It's the same type of capsule that just two months ago carried the Artemis II crew on their historic, nine-day flight around the moon, sending back jaw-dropping pictures from the moon's far side.

Artemis III will not go to the moon as the crew will stay closer to home, orbiting Earth about 300 miles up.

The main objective: Practice meeting up and docking with lunar landers, a precursor to a 2028 moon landing mission.

NASA hopes to launch artemis three in mid-2027, but neither lander is ready.

Just ten days ago, the launch pad blue origin needed to launch its moon lander was damaged in a spectacular explosion.

Blue Origin says it will take months to repair.

NASA says SpaceX's lander is behind schedule. In fact, Starship is currently grounded by the FAA because of a problem during its last test flight.

Given the number of spacecraft and launches involved in this mission, whenever it happens, NASA says Artemis III will be one of the most complex missions in its history.