Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy said Monday that NASA is opening up competition to bring astronauts to the lunar surface during Artemis III.
“I love SpaceX; it’s an amazing company. The problem is, they’re behind…and we’re in a race against China,” Duffy said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “So I’m going to open up the contract. I’m going to let other space companies compete with SpaceX.”
What does that mean? A NASA spokesperson said SpaceX and Blue Origin have until Oct. 29 to present their ideas for how to accelerate the Moon landing. However, the agency is casting a wide net, and will also issue an RFI to the entire space industry to submit plans “for how NASA can increase the cadence of our mission to the Moon.”
Let’s back up: SpaceX won a $2.9B contract in 2021 to build a human landing system lander, based on Starship, to bring astronauts to the Moon’s surface no earlier than 2027. However, delays in the Starship program have thrown that timeline into question—especially with the Trump administration pushing to nail a crewed lunar landing during this presidential term.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, however, did weigh in, saying no one will beat his company to the lunar surface.
“SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry. Moreover, Starship will end up doing the whole Moon mission. Mark my words,” he wrote on X.
Circling sharks: Duffy specifically name-dropped Blue Origin as one company that could help NASA beat China to the Moon. That would likely involve retrofitting Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander—built to bring cargo to the Moon—to carry humans. However, he said the space agency is open to working with anyone who can accomplish the mission on a tight timeline.
“Whatever one can get us there first…we’re going to take,” he said. “We’re not going to wait for one company.”
What about me? Lockheed was quick to point out that it wanted to throw its hat in the ring, saying that it’s eager to work with NASA “to meet our country’s lunar objectives.” .
“Throughout this year, Lockheed Martin has been performing significant technical and programmatic analysis for human lunar landers, that would provide options to NASA for a safe solution to return humans to the Moon as quickly as possible,” Bob Behnken, VP of exploration, product and technology strategy at Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement.
Second bite: Blue Origin has tried to get in on NASA’s Moon missions before. The company filed both a bid protest and a lawsuit, when SpaceX won the contract. Ultimately, the GAO denied the protest, and the US Court of Federal Claims dismissed the suit.
