New Nasa lunar contest could pit Elon Musk against Jeff Bezos, as US fears China will win race to Moon

New NASA Lunar Contest Could Pit Elon Musk Against Jeff Bezos

The US space agency has opened a lunar lander contract, previously held by SpaceX, to competition. The United States and China are engaged in a race to be the first to send humans to the Moon in over fifty years. A new dynamic has emerged: American companies are now competing to build the lunar landing vehicle that could secure the Moon race victory for the US.

Emerging Rivalry Between Musk and Bezos

This competition could place Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, two billionaire rivals, head-to-head. It has already led to a public dispute between Musk and NASA’s acting chief, Sean Duffy, revealing disagreements about the future direction and leadership of the US space agency.

Background: SpaceX’s Original Contract

In April 2021, SpaceX was awarded the contract to develop the lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which aims to return Americans to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The lander was based on SpaceX’s innovative Starship vehicle, under development at the company’s south Texas facility.

Starship Test Flights and Recent Performance

Since April 2023, SpaceX has conducted 11 Starship test flights.
Launches in August and October 2025 were successful.
The three flights prior ended in failure of the upper stage, or “ship,” which is intended to carry astronauts.

With China advancing strongly in the race for lunar dominance, pressure intensified on SpaceX to achieve faster progress, although assessing milestones can be partly subjective.

"On October 20, Sean Duffy announced that he was opening up SpaceX’s US$4 billion contract to new competition."

This decision marks a significant shift in NASA’s approach to selecting the lunar lander provider, emphasizing renewed scrutiny and competition.

Author's Summary

The reopening of NASA’s lunar lander contract highlights growing competition among US companies, reflecting broader tensions in the space race with China and disputes within NASA’s leadership.

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The Conversation — 2025-11-01