Citing delays, acting NASA chief Sean Duffy announced that the Artemis program – NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon – would have to be revised again. The announcement came on Monday (October 22) as Duffy, also transport minister, made two television appearances to discuss current issues with the show. This included the development of the Starship Human Landing System (HLS), the lunar lander that will transport astronauts to and from the lunar surface, which NASA awarded to SpaceX in 2021.
Additionally, Duffy suggested that NASA’s current schedule for Artemis III (scheduled for 2027) is no longer tenable. To that end, he said NASA would expand the competition to develop an HLS system that would land astronauts on the lunar surface and return them to orbit. This latest announcement follows budget cuts, mass layoffs and changing priorities, all summarized in the White House’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. The main priority of this document was the need to “preempt the Chinese to the Moon,” who are currently planning to land taikonauts no earlier than 2030.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Duffy emphasized that the proposed restructuring is all about delivering on that priority:
We’re on the right track to Artemis Two, right? That’s it again: To the moon and back. But Artemis three is when we land on the moon again, which will be in about a year and a half or two years. SpaceX has the contract…but they’re behind schedule. That’s why the president wants to make sure we beat the Chinese. He wants to get there on his terms. So I’m just about to open this contract.
I think we will see companies like Blue [Origin] Join in and maybe others will too. We will be in a space race with American companies vying to see who can actually get us back to the moon first. But I’m pretty confident in this competition that we’re going to beat the Chinese, and we’re going to beat them during President Trump’s term, before then [January 2029].
*Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy speaks at a press conference prior to the launch of the Crew 11 mission. Photo credit: NASA*
SpaceX and Blue Origin
Blue Origin is already contracted to provide landing services (with their Blue Moon lander) as part of the Artemis program. These include the Artemis V and Artemis VI missions, currently scheduled for March 2030 and March 2031, respectively. Meanwhile, SpaceX is contracted to provide landing services for Artemis III – the long-awaited return to the moon – by mid-2027, followed by Artemis VI in September 2028. However, the Starship prototypes exploded or were lost in orbit during a total of 11 orbital test flights.
In several cases, premature shutdowns of the spacecraft’s engines occurred due to fuel leaks, resulting in loss of control and telemetry. In addition, the spacecraft suffered from performance issues with its engines and its payload capacity – the amount of mass it can carry into space. Currently, the company claims that the fully reusable spacecraft will be capable of carrying 100 to 150 tons (110 to 165 US tons) into low Earth orbit (LEO).
In a recent statement, Musk suggested that the current version of Starship (V2) would have a capacity of around 35-50 tons per LEO. He also stated that the fully reusable V3, due to be launched sometime next year, will have a capacity of over 100 tonnes. Assuming the V3 can deliver on that promise, it still needs to be validated for manned missions, which include a successful demonstration flight. This consists of launching the vehicle into orbit, refueling with a tanker, landing on the lunar surface and then returning to lunar orbit.
Although the company had hoped to reach this milestone by 2026, they are far from achieving it. The main problem is orbital refueling, which requires the transfer of cryogenic propellants into LEO – a major challenge that has never been attempted before. While SpaceX successfully demonstrated internal fuel transfer in Flight Test 3, they are still a long way from fully refueling Starships in orbit. In a November 2024 statement, Musk claimed they had planned to conduct an orbital refueling demonstration by March 2025, but delays have pushed the date back indefinitely.
“And maybe others too”
As Ars Technica’s Eric Berger noted in a recent article, Duffy’s comments could allude to two possible alternatives for creating a crew-certified lunar lander if SpaceX cannot deliver. This could include Blue Origin’s plan to deploy multiple Mark 1 Blue Moon landers (a smaller unmanned version of the vehicle) to carry cargo and crew to the lunar surface. This vehicle was originally designed to carry cargo in support of lunar missions and was intended to be launched on the company’s New Glenn rocket, which was successfully tested earlier this year.
However, government sources recently reported that the company is developing a modified version of the vehicle that could also carry crews to the moon. Another possibility, says Berger, is that NASA could develop a lunar lander (similar to the Apollo lunar module) that would be ready for launch in two and a half years. “In recent weeks, officials from traditional space companies have told Duffy and Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Pete Meachum that they can build an Apollo lunar module-like lander within 30 months,” he wrote. “NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya is in favor of this government-led approach,” sources said.
Lockheed Martin, which is responsible for providing NASA’s Orion spacecraft, also recently announced that it is ready to provide an HLS system if needed. As Bob Behnken, a former NASA astronaut and vice president of exploration and technology strategy at Lockheed Martin Space, said in a recent statement:
Over the course of this year, Lockheed Martin has conducted extensive technical and programmatic analyzes for manned lunar landers that would provide NASA with options for a safe solution to return humans to the Moon as quickly as possible. We have worked with a cross-sector team of companies and look forward to working together to address Minister Duffy’s request to achieve our country’s lunar goals.
In response to Duffy’s statement, Musk was undeterred and even welcomed the competition. As he wrote on
*Artist’s impression of Blue Origin’s Mk. 1 lunar lander Blue Moon. Photo credit: Blue Origin*
Domestic politics?
According to multiple sources, this proposed restructuring could be more than just an attempt to accelerate the Artemis program and could be motivated in part by internal politics. The White House is currently opening the nomination process for a permanent NASA administrator, which could end up being Jared Isaacman. While Trump declared in December 2024 that Isaacman was his choice for the position, his nomination was withdrawn over the summer.
But according to a recent report from Reuters, Isaacman is currently in talks to reclaim his nomination. Let’s assume that Isaacman is a serious contender for the role of administrator (and his qualifications certainly say so). In this case, Berger suggests that Duffy may be initiating the restructure because he himself is after the position. Still, it is clear at this point that Duffy, NASA and the current administration intend to push Artemis forward and achieve a manned lunar landing before China can. In response to Duffy’s comments and repeated requests for details, NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens reported that SpaceX and Blue Origin now have an Oct. 29 deadline to present “accelerated approaches” to developing a lunar lander:
NASA will also ask the entire commercial space industry through an RFI (or request for information) for plans on how NASA can increase the frequency of our mission to the Moon. President Trump and Secretary Duffy are on a mission to beat China back to the moon. That’s why they’re harnessing the power of the American space industry and looking for solutions to develop more ways to land on the moon.
It is currently unclear which companies will take part in the competition. What is clear is that expanding the process to include more applicants will require additional resources. This will be challenging because NASA was allocated $18.8 billion in the 2026 budget, a 25% reduction from 2025. The situation is further complicated by the government shutdown and the government’s track record of cutting public resources. However, given the current competition with China and Duffy’s declaration that a manned lunar mission will take place before Trump’s second term, there may be an effort to loosen the purse strings!
Further reading: Ars Technica, Reuters.
Comments are closed.