The US space agency Nasa wants to re-tender the contract for the Artemis 3 manned moon landing because the previous contractor SpaceX is behind schedule. This step will now be initiated, said NASA boss Sean Duffy (54), who is also US Secretary of Transportation, on Fox News on Monday. He expects companies like Blue Origin to participate. “There will be a space race by American companies to see who can get us back to the moon first,” Duffy said.
SpaceX is the space company of Tesla– and X boss Elon Musk (54). Since 2021, the company has had a NASA contract worth $4.4 billion to take people to the moon with its Starship rocket by 2027. The Amazon founder’s competitor Blue Origin Jeff Bezos (61) has a similar contract, but for later Artemis missions. The company had been pushing for years for NASA to select a second provider for a lunar module as security. Duffy’s comments suggest that Blue Origin could now bid for the former Artemis 3 mission.
The USA want to return to the moon faster than China, which is aiming for a manned landing in 2030. president Donald Trump (79) also wants the landing to take place before the end of his term in January 2029.
“They’re behind, and that’s why the president wants to make sure we beat the Chinese,” Duffy said, referring to SpaceX. The mission would be the first manned lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. The previous mission, Artemis 2, a 10-day flight around the moon, is scheduled for April 2026 and could potentially be brought forward to February, Duffy added.