COMMENTARY: It’s up to SpaceX, Blue Origin to stick moon landing
NASA is relying on SpaceX and Blue Origin to build lunar landers for the Artemis III mission next year, a crucial step towards returning to the moon's surface since 1972. The agency's new administrator, Jared Isaacman, faces the challenge of keeping the program on schedule with the help of these commercial space companies.
NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon marked the first step towards returning to the moon and never leaving. The agency is now betting on SpaceX and Blue Origin to build lunar landers for the Artemis III mission next year. SpaceX is running behind on its lunar lander and is distracted by its initial public sale of shares and other projects. Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, is also facing challenges, with its New Glenn rocket launching for only the third time and still working on a human-rated orbital spacecraft. Jared Isaacman, NASA's new administrator, is tasked with keeping the program on schedule and has promised to take 'uncomfortable action' if contractors miss deadlines and budgets. NASA added a test flight for Artemis III in 2027 to demonstrate docking and crew transfer between Lockheed Martin's Orion spacecraft and the new lunar landers.
This content was automatically generated and/or translated by AI. It may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the original sources for verification.