#Starship issues are the need for many refuelings ⛽ and its height, making it difficult to land on uneven terrain. #NASA does not need Starship's incredible capability, it needs fewer than 10 tons for initial human 🧑🚀 missions.
#BlueOrigin's #Mark1 lander is scheduled to launch in early 📆 2026. It will be the largest vehicle to ever land on the #Moon. A modified version could land #humans on the Moon 🌙 this decade https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/10/how-america-fell-behind-china-in-the-lunar-space-race-and-how-it-can-catch-back-up
0 Boosts
0 Likes
#SpaceX has produced more than three dozen Starships and 600 #Raptor rocket engines. There have been 11 #Starship-only flight tests and 11 integrated flight tests of Starship and #SuperHeavy. SpaceX’s #HLS team has completed 49 milestones to land #astronauts on the #Moon 🌙 and started fabricating a flight-article Starship HLS cabin. A long-duration flight test is targeted to take place in 📆 2026 https://www.spacex.com/updates#moon-and-beyond
#LifeSupport has been tested using a full-scale cabin inhabited by multiple people. A full demonstration of the elevator using the #Axiom #EVA suits, which will be used during the #Artemis missions, has also been completed. And landing leg testing, which included the dropping of a full-scale article at flight energies onto simulated lunar regolith. Another addition is a #docking system, which will enable ships to dock with each other in #orbit https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/11/starship-block-3-path-moon
11 months later
Unlike astronauts aboard #BlueOrigin’s lander, who can use stairs 🪜 to reach the surface six feet below, crews aboard #SpaceX’s lander will have to ride an external elevator 🛗 some 10 stories down the side of their rocket. #NASA is actively working with SpaceX to develop alternate means of vehicle ingress should the elevator become stuck or fail while the crew is on the lunar surface https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/03/10/nasa-inspector-general-assesses-agencys-management-of-moon-lander-risk/
@spaceflight @nyrath They need a spiral staircase around the outside of the spacecraft.
Come on NASA, you cowards! Do it!
In the limited time before January 2029, it might be possible to develop another lunar 🌙 lander, but not from scratch. A new lander for #Artemis III could cost 💰more than what #NASA is paying #SpaceX or #BlueOrigin https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/science/nasa-moon-lander-spacex.html
#SpaceRace #China #MoonLander
With SpaceX Behind Schedule, NASA Will Seek More Moon Lander Ideas (Published 2025)