The head of NASA just shook up the agency’s plans to land on the moon

Duffy also cites the involvement of “possibly others”. This suggests a third option. In recent weeks, officials from traditional space companies told Duffy and DOT Chief of Staff Pete Mitchum that they could build an Apollo-like lander within 30 months. Amit Kshatriya, associate administrator of NASA, favors this government-led approach, the sources said.

On Monday, a Lockheed Martin official confirmed in a statement to Ars that the company is ready if NASA invites them.

“Over the course of this year, Lockheed Martin has conducted important technical and software analysis of human lunar landers that will provide options for NASA to find a safe solution to return humans to the Moon as quickly as possible,” said Bob Behnken, vice president of Exploration and Technology Strategy at Lockheed Martin Space Corporation. “We have worked with a team of companies across various industries, and together we look forward to meeting Secretary Duffy’s request to achieve our nation’s lunar goals.”

NASA won’t be able to easily tear up its existing Human Landing System contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin, especially with the former, where much of the funding has already been awarded for milestone payments. Instead, Duffy will likely find new funding from Congress. And it won’t be cheap. This is NASA’s analysis 2017 estimates indicate that a sole-source, cost-plus lunar lander would cost between $20 billion and $30 billion, or roughly 10 times what NASA awarded SpaceX in 2021.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, responding to Duffy’s comments, seemed to relish the challenge posed by industry competitors.

“SpaceX is moving at lightning speed compared to the rest of the space industry.” Musk said On his social media site, X. “Besides, Starship will end up doing the entire moon mission. Mark my words.”

Timing

Duffy’s remarks on television Monday morning, while important to the broader space community, also seemed directed at one audience: President Trump.

The president appointed Duffy, who already leads the Department of Transportation, to lead NASA on an interim basis in July. This came six weeks after the president, for political reasons, canceled his nomination of billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead the space agency.