SpaceX Awarded $1.15 Billion Contract to Build NASA’s Second Lunar Lander

NASA just lately added a brand new Moon touchdown to its Artemis plans and it wants a specialised human touchdown system to hold it out. To just about nobody’s shock, NASA selected SpaceX to develop this second lunar lander.

NASA awarded SpaceX a contract modification often called Option B, which requires tweaks to the corporate’s preliminary Starship lunar lander, the area company announced this week. The Option B contract is value round $1.15 billion.

“With multiple planned landers, from SpaceX and future partners, NASA will be better positioned to accomplish the missions of tomorrow: conducting more science on the surface of the Moon than ever before and preparing for crewed missions to Mars,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson stated in a press release.

NASA intends to land two astronauts on the lunar floor in 2025, however more realistically in 2026, in the course of the Artemis 3 mission. Last month, NASA introduced its plans to land a second crew on the Moon throughout the next Artemis 4 mission as nicely. The area company had scrapped its unique plans for a second lunar touchdown throughout Artemis 4, which additionally entails delivering two area station elements to lunar orbit, however the company had a current change of coronary heart.

In 2021, NASA signed a $2.89 billion contract with SpaceX to develop a human touchdown system for Artemis 3. The personal firm intends to make use of a modified Starship spacecraft to carry out the duty. The absolutely built-in Starship heavy launch system has but to fly, however it might accomplish that in December.

The new addition to the unique contract now appears past that preliminary lunar landing and in the direction of the institution of a sustainable human presence on the Moon—a key side of the Artemis program. To that finish, Option B will embrace a modified Starship lander able to docking with NASA’s lunar Gateway (a future orbiting outpost across the Moon), accommodate 4 crew members, and ship extra cargo to the lunar floor, in keeping with NASA.

“Continuing our collaborative efforts with SpaceX through Option B furthers our resilient plans for regular crewed transportation to the lunar surface and establishing a long-term human presence under Artemis,” Lisa Watson-Morgan, supervisor for the Human Landing System program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, stated in a press release.

SpaceX could also be growing a modified Starship lander, however NASA continues to be trying to develop its choices because it appears past Artemis 4. The area company has known as on different U.S. firms to give you designs for extra Moon landers for future missions. SpaceX beforehand beat out Blue Origin for the primary lunar touchdown system, however Jeff Bezos’ firm might very nicely be prepared with a brand new proposal for this upcoming contract.

More: NASA Wants More Spacecraft for Its Upcoming Artemis Moon Missions