NASA chooses SpaceX for its next mission to the Moon

AFP

NASA has chosen SpaceX to send the next U.S. astronauts to the moon, a first since 1972, the space agency announced Friday, handing Elon Musk's company a major victory.

The $2.9 billion contract is for the Starship spacecraft prototype, which is being tested at a SpaceX facility in Texas.

"Today I'm very excited, and we're all very excited to announce that we've awarded SpaceX the development of our lunar landing system," said Lisa Watson-Morgan, NASA's program manager.

SpaceX beat out Dynetics and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to become the sole provider of the system, a departure from the past when NASA often chose multiple companies if one failed.

Industry analysts say the move solidifies Elon Musk's company, which was founded in 2002 with the goal of conquering Mars, as NASA's preferred private sector partner.

Last year, SpaceX became the first private company to successfully send a crew to the International Space Station, restoring America's ability to accomplish the feat for the first time since the Shuttle space program ended.

SpaceX introduced its reusable Starship spacecraft, designed to carry large crews and cargo for long trips into space, and which can land upright.

Prototypes of the rocket are currently being tested in Texas, but all four attempted flights have, so far, ended in explosions.

As part of the Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the Moon, NASA wants to use the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy rocket to launch four astronauts aboard an Orion capsule, which will then dock with a lunar orbital station called Gateway.

The Starship rocket would be waiting, ready to receive two crew members for the final leg of the journey to the Moon's surface.

The idea is for the Gateway station to serve as an intermediary, but for the initial mission, Orion could dock directly with Starship, said Lisa Watson-Morgan.

The astronauts would then spend a week on the Moon, before boarding the Starship rocket to return to lunar orbit, and return to Earth on Orion.

In parallel, SpaceX aims to combine its Starship spacecraft with its Super Heavy rocket, to create a 120-meter high craft, the most powerful launch vehicle ever deployed.

Man last set foot on the Moon in 1972 with the Apollo program.

NASA wants to return and establish a lasting presence with a lunar space station to test new technologies that will pave the way for a crewed mission to Mars.

In 2019, then-Vice President Mike Pence challenged NASA to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024, but that timeline is likely to be relaxed under President Joe Biden.

The Democratic president's administration has also announced a new goal of sending the first ethnic minority person to the Moon under the Artemis program.

Source: AFP