SpaceX, Blue Origin moon landers in focus after NASA's Artemis success
By Joey Roulette
Published on April 14, 2026.
NASA's Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the agency's return-to-the-moon program, has brought attention to the commercial lunar landers SpaceX, Blue Origin, and SpaceX, who are developing different designs for the program. The Artemis mission, which included a crewed mission and sent astronauts farther from Earth than ever before, has highlighted one of the program's biggest remaining risks: a complex final descent to the moon, a feat NASA hasn't attempted since 1972. SpaceX is developing a Human Landing System based on its massive Starship rocket, while Blue Origin is developing its own Blue Moon lander. The companies aim to land an uncrewed version of Blue Moon on the moon this summer, marking the company's first attempt at a soft lunar landing. Meanwhile, SpaceX is set to launch a new version of Starship, Version 3, as soon as May, following a months-long hiatus.
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