SpaceX Proposes Simplified Artemis III Plan

NASA's acting administrator Sean Duffy said he would reopen the Artemis III lunar-lander contract, and SpaceX proposed a simplified mission architecture in response. In a blog post SpaceX defended Starship progress, citing 11 test flights and 49 HLS milestones and calling Starship the fastest path to return humans to the Moon and enable a sustainable lunar presence and eventual Mars missions. SpaceX highlighted Starship's heavy-payload capability of about 100 metric tons to the lunar surface and described a two-track funding approach with the first stage largely self-funded and the Ship upper stage funded by NASA through milestone payments. The reopened competition includes rivals such as Blue Origin, and safety advisers have warned the 2027 landing target may be optimistic. Elon Musk publicly criticized Duffy after the announcement, and SpaceX has not released technical details of the simplified plan, saying it is formally assessing the approach with NASA.