NASA announces plans to develop second Moon lander, alongside SpaceX’s Starship

NASA plans to send humans back to the Moon with a second human lunar lander. The space agency wants to have landers that can take people to and from the moon by the year 2027.

The first woman and the first person of color on the Moon will be reached by a lunar lander being developed by NASA and commercial partners. The space agency awarded a $2.9 billion contract to the company to develop a lander that can take humans to the moon. The first Artemis lunar landing is not likely to take place until at least 2025, though NASA and SpaceX are working on it.

In order to keep costs down, NASA wanted to pick two companies to develop human lunar landers for Artemis. The agency was going to pick two winners from the three finalist companies. The agency chose one due to budget constraints. NASA was only given $850 million of the $3.4 billion it requested from Congress for the development of Artemis lunar landers. NASA went with the company because it had offered the most affordable bid.

The decision to pick one company didn't sit well with the losing finalist. The company lost its case after suing NASA over the selection. Despite the lawsuit, NASA administrator Bill Nelson expressed his desire to eventually have two lunar lander providers, with hopes that Congress would fund the initiative. At one point, it looked like Congress would direct NASA to make that happen. In October, the Senate Appropriation Committee introduced a bill that would direct NASA to pick a second company to develop a lunar lander for Artemis. The most recent budget bill that was signed for the year of 2022, did not force NASA to do that, but it did give the space agency the full amount it asked for to develop lunar landers.

Now, ahead of President Joe Biden's budget request expected next week, NASA is announcing official plans to select another company's lunar lander, as the agency had wanted to do all along. It helps NASA. It benefits the American people, Nelson said, so here it is, with plans to release a final call at the end of the month. Everyone will be able to compete in this new competition.

NASA says it will make some changes to the contract with SpaceX. NASA's original contract with the company has them conducting an uncrewed landing on the Moon as a demonstration test before the first crewed landing in the mid-2020s. NASA's return to the Moon with humans since the 1970s will be marked by the first landing of Artemis III. NASA would buy individual flights of the Starship lander to continue going back to the Moon after that, as part of a new operational contract with the space agency.

NASA will work with SpaceX to conduct a third crewed landing after Artemis III. If the providers are ready, the new company that NASA picks would compete for upcoming Artemis missions.

Since some lawmakers want NASA to pick a second lunar lander, a lot of this depends on buy-in from Congress. With President Biden's budget request scheduled for release on March 28th, the numbers should be available fairly soon. Nelson says he expects the funds to come through.