NASA accepts new Artemis lunar lander proposals from commercial companies

Back in April 2021, NASA chose SpaceX to develop a lunar lander that will take astronauts to the moon for future Artemis missions. However, SpaceX’s vehicle won’t be the only one to fly astronauts to the Moon’s surface: NASA has already announced that they welcome proposals from American companies for landers that could take spacewalkers from Gate station in lunar to lunar orbit. With that in mind, the lander design could be used for missions beyond Artemis III, which would be the first crewed landing on the Moon since Apollo 17.

In its announcement, the agency said it was also exercising an option under an existing contract with SpaceX and was asking the company to change the landing system it proposed to accommodate the new requirement. Pursuing more development work under the original contract will maximize NASA’s investment and partnership with SpaceX, the agency said. Having a second lunar lander “provides backup service” and could help ensure reliable transportation for the astronauts that will be part of future moon missions.

While the call for a second lunar lander is new, the plan to have more than one company work on the project is not. NASA was originally supposed to choose more than one lunar lander supplier for Artemis, but the agency didn’t get enough funding from Congress, leaving it alone with SpaceX.

Blue Origin, one of the last of the contract, Complaint filed with the U.S. Federal Court, calling the decision “fundamentally unfair.” The Jeff Bezos-owned Space Corporation argued that NASA allowed SpaceX to modify its bid and did not have the same opportunity to do so. Of note, the contract that SpaceX won was worth $2.9 billion, while Blue Origin’s bid nearly doubled at $5.9 billion. NASA believes that Blue Origin intentionally bid high on the assumption that NASA will bargain and they will receive more money than they already have. While the court dismiss Blue Origin’s lawsuit in November, SpaceX had to halt work on the lander twice, taking months in the process. When NASA push back During the Artemis III mission through 2025, NASA administrator Bill Nelson attributed the Blue Origin lawsuit to part of the cause.

NASA will issue a draft referendum for a second lunar lander in the coming weeks before making a formal request for the proposals this summer.

Lisa Watson-Morgan, Director of NASA’s Human Landing Systems Program, said:

“This strategy accelerates progress towards a long-term, sustained lander capability as early as the 2026 or 2027 timeframe. We expect to have two companies put astronauts on board their landers as early as possible. safely to the surface of the Moon under the guidance of NASA before we request service, which could generate many experienced providers in the market.”