NASA Reopens Lunar Mission Contract to Blue Origin; Musk Disputes Claims

Duffy said Monday (local time) that NASA could open the production contracts of its Human Landing System (HLS) for the Artemis lunar program to rival companies such as Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin lunar contract as soon as next year.

In a post on X, Duffy said the space agency is considering opening up more “competition and innovation” to beat China in a renewed Moon race. Elon Musk NASA response was quick to fire back, saying SpaceX’s Starship will “definitely be the one” to fly first.

“We are in a race against China so we need the best companies capable of going fast enough to get us to the Moon first,” Duffy wrote. “SpaceX currently has the HLS contract for Artemis III, which will return U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface. But competition drives progress, so we’re opening HLS production to Blue Origin and other top American companies.”

CNN reports that Duffy’s statements signal the acting administrator’s growing concern that SpaceX’s development schedule is too slow to meet NASA’s deadline of landing astronauts on the Moon before China. Duffy’s comments also reignited industry discussion over NASA’s controversial decision in 2021 to give the sole lunar lander contract to SpaceX.

Industry analysts have previously said that the complexity of Starship’s technical design will likely result in delays to Artemis III, potentially allowing China to overtake NASA in the Moon race. Artemis III, which plans to land the first humans on the Moon’s South Pole, is currently scheduled for no earlier than mid-2027.

NASA has contracts with two companies for their lunar landers: SpaceX with its Starship vehicle, and NASA Moon mission Blue Origin lander.

It is SpaceX that will transport astronauts to the Moon for Artemis III, while Blue Origin will support future NASA space exploration 2025 like Artemis V later in the programme, CNN reported, following the company receiving its contract in 2023.