NASA has announced that it will reopen bidding for its flagship U.S. moon landing contract, citing mounting delays in Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship lunar lander project.
The decision clears the way for competitors such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to compete for the high-profile mission to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.
NASA’s acting chief, Sean Duffy who also serves as U.S. Transportation Secretary told Fox News that the agency would “open the contract up,” saying, “I think we’ll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others.”
The decision follows months of internal pressure to accelerate the Artemis lunar programme and push SpaceX to make greater progress, especially as China advances towards its goal of sending humans to the Moon by 2030. The move marks a major shift in NASA’s lunar strategy, launching a new competitive phase for the crewed lander programme just two years before the scheduled mission.
Starship, initially selected in 2021 under a $4.4 billion contract, faces a 2027 landing deadline, one that NASA advisers fear could slip by several years due to competing priorities. While SpaceX’s vehicle is also central to Musk’s wider ambitions, including expanding the Starlink satellite network and future Mars missions, NASA has reportedly grown concerned about the lack of lunar-specific progress.
Duffy acknowledged SpaceX’s achievements but noted that the company is behind schedule, adding that President Donald Trump wants the mission completed before his term ends in January 2029. NASA has now asked both SpaceX and Blue Origin to submit accelerated moon landing plans by 29 October and is inviting proposals from other commercial space firms to increase the pace of lunar missions.
Blue Origin, which was awarded a separate $3 billion contract in 2023 for later Artemis missions, is expected to be a key contender. Lockheed Martin has also confirmed that it is analysing technical and programmatic options for human lunar landers in collaboration with other industry partners.
NASA’s Artemis programme aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, with Artemis 2, a 10-day lunar flyby on track for early 2026 and Artemis 3 targeting a 2027 landing.
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A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
Hundreds of protesters and emergency services clashed in a remote Northern Territory town overnight following the arrest of a man suspected of abducting and murdering a five-year-old Indigenous girl, police confirmed on Friday.
At a moment when the trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies remains deeply strained, senior officials from Beijing and Washington have resumed direct talks.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran remain elevated after renewed warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump that military action against Iran has not been ruled out, alongside claims that Iranian leadership is eager to reach a deal.
A report published by Minval Politika has raised new questions over alleged efforts by Luis Moreno Ocampo to shape international pressure against Azerbaijan and influence political dynamics around Armenia.
A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phase” for the Strait of Hormuz, while a senior adviser said U.S. blockade efforts would fail and could trigger confrontation.
Shares in Meta Platforms fell sharply in extended trading on Wednesday after the tech giant raised its annual capital spending forecast by billions of dollars.
A senior U.S. administration official says a ceasefire agreed with Iran in early April has effectively ended hostilities for an imminent congressional war powers 1 May deadline, arguing that the absence of any military exchanges for more than three weeks removes the need for further authorisation.
A humanoid robot called Sophia took an unusual place at the heart of a classical concert in Hong Kong on Wednesday (29 April), as she performed alongside a live orchestra for the first time.
Elon Musk took the stand on Tuesday (28 April) at a high-stakes trial over the future of OpenAI, casting his lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker as a defence of charitable giving.
A pivotal trial that could shape the governance of artificial intelligence begins Tuesday in California, as Elon Musk and Sam Altman face off over OpenAI’s shift to a for-profit model.
Alphabet Inc’s Google has deepened its operational relationship with the United States Department of Defense (DoD), quietly signing a wide-ranging agreement to deploy artificial intelligence models in highly classified environments.
Market reaction to DeepSeek’s preview of its next-generation artificial intelligence model has been relatively subdued, in sharp contrast to the global shock triggered by its breakthrough releases last year.
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