NASA is currently aiming to complete a moon landing by 2028. manuelhuss – stock.adobe.com In its mission to bring humans back to the moon, called Artemis III, NASA has built the rocket and spacecraft that will launch astronauts from Earth into space. But SpaceX has a nearly $3 billion government contract to construct the mission’s lunar lander, a spacecraft that will bring the crew from the rocket down to the moon’s surface. It is planning to use its massive Starship vehicle, though the staggering rocket has exploded several times during testing and has never successfully traveled to orbit. It’s the same rocket that SpaceX plans to use on its ambitious Mars flights. Meanwhile, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy – previously NASA’s acting administrator – has threatened to replace SpaceX’s role in the moon mission with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin since Musk’s team does not appear on track to deliver the lunar lander. SpaceX is planning to use its massive Starship vehicle as the lunar lander for the moon landing. REUTERS Blue Origin, which also holds huge government contracts, has paused its space tourism program – which famously brought Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez and Gayle King to space – to focus on lunar landing vehicles. Meanwhile, Musk has grown more outspoken on politics and become entangled in the Trump administration. He donated hundreds of millions of dollars to President Trump’s re-election efforts in 2024 and then took on a White House role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, a cost-cutting committee that slashed foreign aid and laid off tens of thousands of federal workers.