More than half a century after Apollo 17's astronauts last left footprints on the lunar surface, NASA has chosen a private company to carry humanity back to the Moon. On a Friday in April 2021, the agency awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to build the lander that will return American astronauts — including the first woman — to the lunar surface by 2024, selecting Elon Musk's Starship design over competing bids from Blue Origin and Dynetics. The decision marks not only a renewed ambition for lunar exploration, but a fundamental shift in how that ambition is pursued: the next giant leap wil
NASA Selects SpaceX for $2.9B Artemis Moon Landing Contract
We will return American astronauts to the Moon once again
Mark
Why does it matter that NASA picked SpaceX over the other two companies? Is this just about cost?
Mimi
It's partly about cost, but it's also about which design NASA thinks can actually work. SpaceX proposed using Starship, which they're already testing. Blue Origin and Dynetics had different approaches. NASA decided Starship was the best path forward.
Luke
Though we should note—Starship hasn't flown humans yet. NASA is betting on a vehicle still in development. That's a real risk.
Mark
So the 2024 landing date—is that realistic?
Mimi
That's what NASA is targeting. But Starship is still being tested in South Texas, and there's a lot of engineering between now and then. The timeline is ambitious.
Luke
Very ambitious. Starship has had some spectacular failures during testing. Getting to a human-rated lunar lander in three years is possible, but it's not guaranteed.
Mark
What does the actual mission look like?
Mimi
Four astronauts launch together on Orion. Two of them transfer to the SpaceX lander and go down to the Moon for about a week. The other two stay in orbit. Then everyone comes home.
Luke
That's the plan. But the real test is whether Starship can land safely with humans aboard, and whether it can launch back off the Moon reliably. Those are the unknowns.
Mark
Why did NASA go with a private company instead of building this themselves?
Mimi
It's cheaper and faster. NASA provides expertise and oversight, but SpaceX does the heavy lifting. It's a different model than Apollo.
Luke
It's also riskier in some ways. You're dependent on a single company's success. But it's also more efficient if it works.
The Pulse
- After a gap of more than fifty years, NASA is racing to return humans to the Moon by 2024 — a deadline that compresses an enormous engineering challenge into just a few years.
- SpaceX's Starship, still undergoing test flights in South Texas and not yet proven with human passengers, now carries the weight of the entire Artemis lunar landing architecture.
- Blue Origin and Dynetics, both serious contenders, walk away empty-handed, concentrating unprecedented responsibility — and $2.9 billion — in a single commercial partner.
- The mission plan calls for four astronauts to reach lunar orbit aboard Orion, with two transferring to the SpaceX lander for a week on the surface before rejoining their crewmates for the return to Earth.
- NASA frames the choice as a revival of the Apollo spirit — collaborative, ambitious, and willing to bet on what has not yet been proven possible.
More than half a century after Apollo 17's astronauts last left footprints on the lunar surface, NASA has chosen a private company to carry humanity back to the Moon. On a Friday in April 2021, the agency awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to build the lander that will return American astronauts — including the first woman — to the lunar surface by 2024, selecting Elon Musk's Starship design over competing bids from Blue Origin and Dynetics. The decision marks not only a renewed ambition for lunar exploration, but a fundamental shift in how that ambition is pursued: the next giant leap will be taken, in part, by a private enterprise still testing its spacecraft in the Texas desert.
On a Friday in April 2021, NASA announced that SpaceX would build and operate the spacecraft to carry the next American astronauts to the Moon. The $2.9 billion contract, awarded over competing bids from Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics, places the centerpiece of NASA's Artemis program in the hands of Elon Musk's company.
The Artemis mission aims to land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface by 2024 — the first human footsteps there since 1972, a silence of more than fifty years. The plan calls for four astronauts to travel together aboard the Orion spacecraft to lunar orbit, where two will transfer into SpaceX's lander and descend to the surface for roughly a week of exploration. The remaining two will wait in orbit before all four make the journey home.
SpaceX's proposed lander is derived from its Starship design, currently undergoing test flights in South Texas. It is a vehicle still in development, one that has not yet carried humans — a fact that makes NASA's selection both a bold bet and a statement about the maturation of commercial spaceflight.
Lisa Watson-Morgan, NASA's human landing system program manager, invoked Apollo to frame the decision: the agency proved once that the seemingly impossible was achievable, and now, working alongside private industry, it intends to prove it again. The choice signals that the Moon is no longer the exclusive domain of government agencies — and that the next era of exploration will be built differently than the first.
On Friday, NASA made its choice: SpaceX would build and operate the spacecraft to carry the next American astronauts to the Moon. The contract, worth $2.9 billion, went to Elon Musk's company over two other contenders—Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and the defense contractor Dynetics—in a decision that shapes the next chapter of lunar exploration.
The mission is part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface by 2024. That target date carries weight: it would mark the first time humans have set foot on the Moon since 1972, a gap of more than fifty years. The architecture is straightforward in concept. Four astronauts will launch together aboard the Orion spacecraft for a multi-day journey to lunar orbit. Once there, two of them will transfer into SpaceX's human landing system—the vehicle that will actually descend to the surface. The other two will remain in orbit, waiting.
Those two lunar explorers will have roughly a week on the surface before climbing back into the lander and returning to orbit to rejoin their crewmates. From there, all four will make the journey home to Earth. It is a mission architecture that echoes Apollo but with a modern twist: NASA is not building the lander itself. Instead, the agency is contracting with a private company to develop and operate the vehicle, a shift in how space exploration gets done.
SpaceX's proposed lander is based on the company's Starship design, a fully reusable spacecraft that has been undergoing test flights in South Texas. The vehicle represents a significant engineering undertaking—a rocket-powered lander capable of carrying crew safely to the lunar surface and back to orbit. By choosing SpaceX, NASA is betting on a design still in development, one that has not yet flown humans anywhere.
Lisa Watson-Morgan, the program manager for the human landing system at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, framed the decision as a return to the collaborative model that enabled Apollo. "During the Apollo program, we proved that it is possible to do the seemingly impossible: land humans on the Moon," she said. "By taking a collaborative approach in working with industry while leveraging NASA's proven technical expertise and capabilities, we will return American astronauts to the Moon's surface once again, this time to explore new areas for longer periods of time." The language signals both continuity and ambition—a recognition that the Moon landing is no longer the exclusive domain of government space agencies, and that the next phase of exploration will look different from the first.
The selection of SpaceX leaves Blue Origin and Dynetics without a contract, though both companies had submitted proposals for the same work. The decision consolidates significant resources and responsibility in one private company, a concentration that reflects both the maturation of commercial spaceflight and the practical constraints of NASA's budget. What happens next depends on whether SpaceX can deliver on the promise of Starship and whether the 2024 timeline holds as testing continues in the Texas desert.
Notable Quotes
By taking a collaborative approach in working with industry while leveraging NASA's proven technical expertise and capabilities, we will return American astronauts to the Moon's surface once again, this time to explore new areas for longer periods of time.— Lisa Watson-Morgan, NASA's human landing system program manager
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