In this photo provided by NASA, the final left and right forward solid rocket booster motor segments for Artemis III are integrated onto the mobile launcher for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Frank Michaux/NASA via AP

NASA is moving fast on its plans to build a moon base and return astronauts to the lunar surface in as little as two years.

Administrator Jared Isaacman said Friday that the space agency is still on track to launch Artemis III next summer on a docking exercise with Elon Musk's and Jeff Bezos' lunar landers. The two-week mission featuring four astronauts will be confined to orbit around Earth—no moon trip this time.

The all-important Artemis IV—NASA's first moon landing by astronauts since Apollo—remains scheduled for 2028, Isaacman said.…