NASA is seeking bids for its planned Moon mission to compete against SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company that the US space agency’s chief said Monday is “behind.” “We’re going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the Moon first,” NASA administrator Sean Duffy said on Fox News. “I’m in the process of opening that contract up. I think we’ll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others.” Blue Origin is the Jeff Bezos-founded rival of SpaceX. That company currently has the contract for the fifth planned mission of the multibillion-dollar Artemis program. “I love SpaceX. It’s an amazing company. The problem is, they’re behind. They pushed their timelines out and we’re in a race with China,” Duffy, who is also the US transportation secretary, said. “The president and I want to get to the Moon in this president’s term, so I’m going to open up the contract.” The US space agency’s Artemis program hopes to return humans to the Moon as China forges ahead that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission. US President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress.
US soliciting new bids for moon mission amid SpaceX delays
Published on: October 21, 2025 6:19 AM