SpaceX, Blue Origin Share New Lunar Landing Profiles

Companies are competing for the recently reopened contract to land NASA astronauts on the moon.

Jack Daleo

Saturday, November 01, 2025 at 10:30 AM ET

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Jack Daleo

An artist’s concept depicts SpaceX’s Starship human landing system (HLS) on the lunar surface. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

NASA is re-evaluating its Human Landing System (HLS) for the Artemis III lunar landing mission due to SpaceX's development delays, reopening the contract to broader industry competition, including Blue Origin.
Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have submitted revised HLS architectures with the potential to accelerate the mission timeline, despite their respective landers facing significant ongoing development challenges.
SpaceX's Starship HLS is behind schedule, with the crucial orbital propellant transfer demonstration now targeted for 2026, contributing to a likely delay in the Artemis III mission beyond its previous 2027 forecast.

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With NASA’s first lunar landing since the Apollo era only a few years away, the space agency has yet to determine exactly how its astronauts will reach the moon.

On Thursday, a NASA spokesperson told CNBC that both Blue Origin and SpaceX—which has been developing its Starship human landing system (HLS) for the mission, Artemis III, since 2023—have submitted revised landing architectures that could accelerate the agency’s timeline.