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NASA is putting out requests for bids on its upcoming Moon mission to compete with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, which the agency’s leader said on Monday is “lagging behind.”
“We’re entering a space race among American companies to see who can return us to the Moon first,” NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said on Fox News.
“I’m opening up that contract process. I expect to see companies like Blue Origin involved, and possibly others.”
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, is SpaceX’s main competitor. The company currently holds the contract for the fifth planned mission within NASA’s multi-billion-dollar Artemis program.
“I admire SpaceX — it’s an incredible company. But they’re behind schedule. They’ve pushed out their timelines, and we’re racing against China,” Duffy, who also serves as the US Transportation Secretary, explained.
“We want to reach the Moon within this presidential term, so I’m opening up this contract,” he added.
NASA’s Artemis program aims to bring humans back to the Moon, as China advances its own space efforts, targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed lunar mission.
During President Donald Trump’s second term, the administration increased pressure on NASA to speed up progress.
Duffy later tweeted that the U.S. is “in a race against China, so we need the best companies working as fast as possible to get us to the Moon first.”
While SpaceX currently holds the contract, he emphasized that “competition and innovation are key to maintaining our space dominance.”
Trump, who launched the Artemis program during his first term, wants NASA to return to the Moon rapidly and has plans for future missions to Mars.
Several delays have affected Artemis 2, the crewed lunar flyby — not a landing — which NASA now expects to launch by April 2026, potentially as early as February.
“We’re committed to that timeline,” NASA official Lakiesha Hawkins said at a press conference last month.
The Artemis 2 crew includes three American astronauts and one Canadian, and this mission will be the first lunar flyby in over five decades.
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