SpaceX, a key partner of NASA, is behind schedule for the development of the lunar lander. This forced the space agency to intensify the search for alternatives, igniting a veritable space race between private companies.
The purpose of the Artemis III mission is to land astronauts on the Moon by the middle 2027 year. However, internal SpaceX documents, that made it to Politico, testify, that the company will be able to perform
this task is not before September 2028 year. The delay is due to the complexity of the development of the Starship Human Landing System (HLS) – a modified version of the Starship spacecraft, intended for lunar landings.
Because of these difficulties, NASA took decisive steps. In October, the agency reopened the competition for the supply of the landing module for Artemis III, inviting other manufacturers to present their proposals. The move is intended to incentivize SpaceX and create a backup plan in case of further delays.
SpaceX's main competitor in this race is Blue Origin, which is already developing its Blue Moon Mark lander 2 (MK2) for the upcoming Artemis V mission. A major success was the recent successful ground test of their New Glenn launch vehicle. This paves the way for a potential demonstration of an unmanned lunar landing as early as y 2026 year.
Under these circumstances, Blue Origin has a real chance to intercept the Artemis III contract from SpaceX. NASA has already received proposals from both companies to accelerate development and will soon announce an industry-wide competition, to choose the most reliable way to return to the moon.
Source: https://universemagazine.com