Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
We hear about NASA’s Artemis program very often. In simple terms, Artemis is NASA’s plan to return humans to the Moon. The main reason this program exists right now is competition. China has publicly stated that it plans to land astronauts on the Moon in the coming years, and the United States does not want to be second.
Because of that, NASA has been under pressure to move faster and commit to a clear timeline. After the directive signed in 2025, NASA was told to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028. That deadline is now fixed. It is something NASA is expected to deliver within a few years.
What many people do not realize is that NASA cannot do this on its own.
NASA talks about Artemis as a NASA program, and in public it often sounds like NASA is building everything itself. But when it comes to actually landing astronauts on the Moon, NASA does not have the vehicle needed to do that.
NASA decided to buy a lander from a private company. After a long selection process, NASA chose Starship, built by SpaceX, to be that lander. This decision was made in 2021.
The first contract NASA awarded to SpaceX was worth 2.9 billion dollars. This contract was specifically for developing a lunar version of Starship that could land astronauts on the Moon and bring them back to lunar orbit. Later, NASA added another 1.15 billion dollars to this deal to extend the program and support future missions. When you add those together, more than 4 billion dollars is now directly tied to Starship being able to land humans on the Moon.
We hear about NASA’s Artemis program very often. In simple terms, Artemis is NASA’s plan to return humans to the Moon. The main reason this program exists right now is competition. China has publicly stated that it plans to land astronauts on the Moon in the coming years, and the United States does not want to be second.
Because of that, NASA has been under pressure to move faster and commit to a clear timeline. After the directive signed in 2025, NASA was told to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028. That deadline is now fixed. It is something NASA is expected to deliver within a few years.
What many people do not realize is that NASA cannot do this on its own.
NASA talks about Artemis as a NASA program, and in public it often sounds like NASA is building everything itself. But when it comes to actually landing astronauts on the Moon, NASA does not have the vehicle needed to do that.
NASA decided to buy a lander from a private company. After a long selection process, NASA chose Starship, built by SpaceX, to be that lander. This decision was made in 2021.
The first contract NASA awarded to SpaceX was worth 2.9 billion dollars. This contract was specifically for developing a lunar version of Starship that could land astronauts on the Moon and bring them back to lunar orbit. Later, NASA added another 1.15 billion dollars to this deal to extend the program and support future missions. When you add those together, more than 4 billion dollars is now directly tied to Starship being able to land humans on the Moon.
