NASA has redrawn the plan to return American astronauts to the Moon, setting up a head-to-head race between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for the first crewed landing of the Artemis programme in 2028. Under revised contracts announced on October 23, neither company is assigned to a specific landing mission any more: whichever lander is ready first will carry astronauts to the lunar surface, with a second landing to follow.

The NASA Artemis Moon landing plan also redefines the next mission, Artemis III, as a 2027 test flight in low Earth orbit, where the Orion crew capsule will practise rendezvous and docking with test versions of both landers. It is a deliberately simpler dress rehearsal, designed to retire risk before anyone flies to the Moon — and a sign of how seriously NASA now takes the race against China to establish a lasting presence on the lunar surface.

Key Points

• NASA will choose the first Artemis landing provider — SpaceX Starship or Blue Origin Blue Moon — based on lander readiness, not a pre-set assignment.
• Artemis III becomes a 2027 low Earth orbit mission testing Orion docking with both landers, lasting a reported 14 to 17 days.
• The first landing, targeted under Artemis IV in 2028, will send two astronauts to the Moon's south pole for two moonwalks of about two hours each.
• SpaceX will refuel Starship in Earth orbit and wait for Orion there; Blue Origin will defer propellant transfer and use three transfer stages.
• Both landers must complete an uncrewed demonstration mission and be certified by NASA before carrying a crew.

What Happened

NASA said on Friday, October 23, that the designs and flight plans for its two commercial crewed Moon landers had changed to accelerate development toward a 2028 landing. Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the move as carrying out President Donald Trump's National Space Policy. “We are executing President Trump's National Space Policy to complete the long-awaited return of American astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028 and establish a Moon Base,” Isaacman said.

Under the original contracts, SpaceX's Starship was assigned to Artemis III and IV, and Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 to Artemis V. Those assignments are gone. “Updating the contracts ensures NASA and its partners are on the same page with requirements and other milestones,” said Jeremy Parsons, NASA's Artemis programme manager. Both providers added new development milestones: SpaceX will add two demonstrations of its crew cabin, called Cabin 1, while Blue Origin will add human-in-the-loop testing and hardware readiness milestones. NASA said the milestones will reduce risk and enhance astronaut safety.

The mission profile itself has changed too. Astronauts will launch in Orion on the Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A commercial lander will link up with Orion, take two crew members to the surface, and leave two aboard Orion. Crucially, the landers and Orion will no longer meet in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. They will rendezvous in an orbit that differs for each provider — a change NASA says cuts propellant needs and shortens the trip back from the surface to Orion.

Background and Context

The Artemis programme is NASA's effort to return humans to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, and then to build the infrastructure for repeated missions and a sustained presence there. The lunar south pole is the target because of its scientific potential and the possibility of water ice in permanently shadowed regions — ice that could one day support life-support systems and even fuel production, though its availability and practical use still require further study.

The programme's recent history explains the urgency. Artemis I flew uncrewed around the Moon in 2022, and Artemis II carried astronauts around the Moon and back in April 2026, according to reports of the programme's progress. What has not happened yet is a landing, and the original plan — in which each provider's lander met Orion in lunar halo orbit — proved complex and propellant-hungry. The revised plan simplifies the rendezvous and lets each provider play to its own design's strengths.

Competition with China is the other driver. China has its own crewed lunar ambitions for the end of the decade, and NASA officials have repeatedly argued that the country that lands first will help set the norms for lunar exploration. Isaacman has drawn on Apollo-era lessons, when rapid progress delivered the first crewed Moon landing in 1969, and NASA is now working with contractors to accelerate development, streamline decision-making and improve workforce capacity.

NASA Artemis Moon Landing: How Each Lander Will Fly

SpaceX Starship. SpaceX will continue to use in-space propellant aggregation. The company will launch multiple Starships to low Earth orbit before the Starship human landing system launches from Florida. Tanker Starships will transfer cryogenic propellant to a depot Starship, which will fuel the lander. Under the revised plan, the Starship lander will then wait for Orion and its crew in Earth orbit. The two will dock there, and the lander will perform a trans-lunar injection burn to send the combined stack to low lunar orbit. NASA said it is working to modify Orion so Starship can push it to the Moon. The low lunar orbit approach will lower the propellant Starship must aggregate and reduce the time for astronauts leaving the surface to link back up with Orion. SpaceX will demonstrate propellant aggregation during its uncrewed demonstration mission.

Blue Origin Blue Moon. Blue Origin will defer propellant transfer for its accelerated 2028 mission. It will use three transfer stages to send the Blue Moon Mark 2 Alpha Lander to the Moon. The stages are based on existing Mark 1 and Mark 2 hardware and operate like a multistage rocket. The stages launch to low Earth orbit, followed by the lander. After docking, the stack departs for an elliptical polar orbit around the Moon. Each stage separates as its propellant depletes. NASA said that orbit offers faster returns from the surface to Orion than the halo orbit, reduces Blue Moon propellant requirements and maximises the performance available from the Space Launch System. Blue Origin will demonstrate the full mission profile in an uncrewed lander transfer stage demonstration mission.

On the surface, the plan is deliberately modest for a first return: two moonwalks of about two hours each, with astronauts in spacesuits provided by Axiom Space. Two crew members will transfer to the lander and descend to the south pole, while two remain aboard Orion. A second crewed landing opportunity will follow the first, keeping both providers in the programme even after a winner is chosen for the first landing.

Reactions and Quotes

Isaacman's statement set the tone: a return in 2028 and then a Moon Base, not a single flags-and-footprints visit. “We are executing President Trump's National Space Policy to complete the long-awaited return of American astronauts to the lunar surface,” he said in NASA's announcement, adding the 2028 date and the Moon Base goal in the fuller version of the quote.

Parsons, the Artemis programme manager, stressed alignment over speed alone. “Updating the contracts ensures NASA and its partners are on the same page with requirements and other milestones,” he said — a line that matters because the new milestones, from SpaceX's Cabin 1 demonstrations to Blue Origin's human-in-the-loop testing, are the concrete checkpoints NASA will use to judge readiness.

Outside NASA, space analysts have noted the trade-off at the heart of the revision. Dropping the halo-orbit rendezvous simplifies both missions, but it also means Orion must be modified to be pushed by Starship, and Blue Origin's three-stage approach must prove itself in an uncrewed flight first. Neither provider has yet flown its crewed lander. That is precisely why NASA is keeping both in play: if one slips, the other can still deliver the 2028 landing.

Why It Matters

The revision matters for three reasons. First, it turns the Artemis landing into a genuine competition, with readiness — not incumbency — deciding who flies first. That is a strong incentive for both companies to hit their new milestones, and it protects the 2028 date against a delay by either provider alone.

Second, it changes the technical risk profile. Propellant aggregation in Earth orbit and a three-stage transfer stack are both ambitious, but they replace a single complex lunar-orbit rendezvous with approaches each company already understands. The uncrewed demonstration requirement, plus NASA certification before any crewed flight, is the safety backstop.

Third, the south pole target connects the landing to the longer goal: a sustained presence. Water ice, if it can be used, changes lunar exploration from a series of visits into something closer to a base. That is why the 2028 landing is described by NASA not as an end in itself, but as the start of a Moon Base — and why the race with China is about more than prestige.

What Happens Next

The next milestone is Artemis III in 2027: four astronauts will spend a reported 14 to 17 days in Earth orbit testing Orion's docking with prototype versions of both landers, in back-to-back docking tests that would once have been done separately. Only after that, and after each provider's uncrewed demonstration and NASA certification, will the first crewed landing fly under Artemis IV in 2028.

Readers can follow related science coverage on US News Pulse, including NASA's Swift Observatory ending its 22-year mission and the Anthropic IPO filing that has put AI spending in focus. For the Artemis programme, the question now is simple: which lander will be ready first — and whether either can hold the 2028 date.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will NASA land astronauts on the Moon again?

NASA is targeting 2028 for the first crewed Artemis landing, under Artemis IV, after a 2027 Artemis III docking test in Earth orbit.

Will SpaceX or Blue Origin land first?

Neither is assigned yet. NASA will decide based on lander readiness: SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2, with a second crewed landing opportunity to follow.

How long will astronauts spend on the Moon?

NASA is targeting two moonwalks of about two hours each during initial surface missions, with two astronauts descending to the south pole and two remaining aboard Orion.

What is Artemis III?

Artemis III is now a 2027 low Earth orbit mission in which four astronauts will test rendezvous and docking between Orion and test versions of both commercial landers, over a reported 14 to 17 days.

Why the Moon's south pole?

The south pole offers scientific potential and the possibility of water ice in permanently shadowed regions, which could support a sustained human presence and, eventually, a Moon Base.