The agency wants Elon Musk's SpaceX to use its Starship cargo lander to deliver a pressurized rover to the Moon “no earlier than” 2032, while Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will be tasked with delivering habitat to the lunar surface before 2033 . Both launches will help NASA's Artemis MissionThe goal of which is to return humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
Both companies are developing human landing systems for Artemis missions – SpaceX for Artemis III and Blue Origin for Artemis V. NASA later told both companies Develop cargo-carrying variants of those landersCapable of carrying 26,000 to 33,000 pounds of equipment and other materials to the Moon.
NASA says it will issue proposals to SpaceX and Blue Origin early next year.
“Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches to crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued exploration and scientific opportunity,” said NASA's Moon to Mars program. Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator Stephen D. Creech, the announcement said.