The US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Nasa) announced recently that it had adopted a two-pronged approach to the development of future astronaut lunar lander spacecraft, to be developed under the Artemis human spaceflight programme.

The intent is to ensure competition in the delivery of lunar orbit-to-surface-and-back transport services for astronauts, equipment and materials.

The Artemis programme marks Nasa’s return to human exploration of the Moon and, indeed, ultimately of Mars. All being well, the Artemis III mission will take astronauts – including the first woman and the first person of colour – back to the surface of the Moon in 2025.

Currently, renowned US space company SpaceX, founded and led by South African-born engineer and entrepreneur Elon Musk, has a contract to develop and build a crewed lunar lander for the Artemis III mission. This contract was awarded in April 2021 and the lander has to be ready for that mission, which will not take place before April 2025.

The new approach will apply to missions after Artemis III. The plan is to have at least two companies supplying lunar lander services, between the Gateway hybrid space station/spacecraft orbiting the Moon and the lunar surface. (Gateway is currently being developed by other companies and entities.)

“Under Artemis, Nasa will carry out a series of ground-breaking missions on and around the Moon to prepare for the next giant leap for humanity: a crewed mission to Mars,” pointed out Nasa administrator Bill Nelson. “Competition is critical to our success on the lunar surface and beyond, ensuring we have the capability to carry out a cadence of missions over the next decade.”

The first prong of the new approach is to exercise an option contained in the contract with SpaceX. “Nasa now is asking SpaceX to transform the company’s proposed human landing system into a spacecraft that meets the agency’s requirements for recurring services for a second demonstration mission,” stated the space agency.

The second prong will start with the issuing of a draft solicitation by Nasa, within the next few weeks, to all other US companies, to offer their concepts for human lunar landers. Interested companies will be briefed on the requirements for the development and demonstration of such spacecraft. This prong of the programme is designated the ‘Sustaining Lunar Development’ contract. In addition to ensuring competition, it will also provide Nasa with redundancy regarding this essential service.

“This strategy expedites progress toward a long-term, sustaining lander capability as early as the 2026 or 2027 timeframe,” explained Nasa Human Landing System programme manager Lisa Watson-Morgan. “We expect to have two companies safely carry astronauts in their landers to the surface of the Moon under Nasa’s guidance before we ask for services, which could result in multiple experienced providers in the market.”