NASA announced Friday it would partner with SpaceX as its sole contractor for a human landing system for its Artemis missions to return humans to the moon.
The Starship lander was one of three teams vying for the contract that aims to put the first woman as part of a two-person team on the Artemis III mission later this decade. The NASA contract is a fixed-price award for $2.89 billion under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships program.
“With this award, NASA and our partners will complete the first crewed demonstration mission to the surface of the moon in the 21st century as the agency takes a step forward for women’s equality and long-term deep space exploration,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA’s associate administrator for Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate. “This critical step puts humanity on a path to sustainable lunar exploration and keeps our eyes on missions farther into the solar system, including Mars.”
The contract includes an uncrewed demonstration landing, followed by the Artemis III mission landing two astronauts on the moon no earlier than 2024.
Article submitted by, Ball Peen Hammer.