Artemis III’s plans and crew were announced yesterday, revealing how the mission will be organized.
The first launch for Artemis III will be New Glenn carrying a MK2 demonstration vehicle. This vehicle can orbit for up to 90 days, giving NASA time to prepare the SLS rocket and its crew for the flight.
The SLS will follow, carrying Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Andre Douglas, and Frank Rubio into Low Earth Orbit. From there, they will rendezvous with the MK2 lander and dock for two days. During this time, they will test systems on the lander.
Next will be a modified Starship V3 vehicle. This vehicle will serve as a docking target, and Orion will be docked to it for only a day. The exact configuration is not yet known, so I have used a placeholder for the ship.
Afterward, the crew will undock and return home. The total duration of the mission is expected to be roughly two weeks.