NASA has selected Elon Musk's SpaceX to build the spacecraft that will carry the first woman and the next man to the Moon, awarding the company a $2.9 billion contract for the lunar lander. The announcement, made on Friday, marks a significant milestone in the Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface by 2024.
SpaceX beat out competitors Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, and Dynetics. The Washington Post, owned by Bezos, described the outcome as a 'stunning victory' for Musk and a 'huge blow' to Blue Origin. NASA's contract is reportedly much lower than what the other bidders proposed.
The SpaceX Human Landing System (HLS) will be based on the company's Starship design, incorporating Raptor engines and drawing from the Falcon and Dragon vehicles. The lander will feature a spacious cabin and two airlocks for astronaut moonwalks. NASA stated that the Starship architecture is intended to evolve into a fully reusable system for travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Under the Artemis mission, four astronauts will launch aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS). Once in orbit, two crew members will transfer to the SpaceX lander for the descent to the Moon's surface. After about a week exploring the lunar surface, they will return to Orion for the journey back to Earth.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, 'With these contract awards, America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface.' Kathy Lueders, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration, added that the award 'puts humanity on a path to sustainable lunar exploration and keeps our eyes on missions farther into the solar system, including Mars.'
