SpaceX Proposes 'Simplified' Artemis III Mission in Bid to Keep NASA Contract

Following NASA's recent opening of the Artemis III mission contract to other providers, SpaceX has rushed out a simplified mission plan in an effort to hold on to the deal. This comes just days after CEO Elon Musk heavily criticised NASA administrators, suggesting no other company but SpaceX could do the job. Clearly, SpaceX feels others might, as it's altering its plans accordingly.

In 2021, SpaceX won the contract to take astronauts to the lunar surface, beating off competition from the likes of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and the Dynetics HLS lander. Part of this was the sheer grandiose spectacle of Starship: reusability, in-orbit refuelling, deep space compatibility, and more. It's complete overkill for a Moon lander and is far, far bigger and heavier than it needs to be. But it won the contract nonetheless, and development has continued since.

Except it's not going fast enough ...