NASA Opens Moon Lander Contract to Competitors Over Starship Delays

‘I’m in the process of opening that contract up. I think we’ll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others,' Duffy said.

Scaffolding surrounds the Artemis solid rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3 during a NASA media day event at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 7, 2025. Steve Nesius/Reuters

NASA’s acting chief, Sean Duffy, said on Oct. 20 that the space agency is expanding competition for its flagship Artemis 3 mission due to delays with the SpaceX Starship lunar lander.

The move could enable competitors such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin to play a role in sending the first astronauts to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.