After the success of the Artemis I mission, NASA is getting ready for its future missions, which ultimately bring back humans to the surface of the Moon.
The successful record of SpaceX, sending spaceships and satellites to space, secured the company the contract with NASA to develop the human landing system (HLS) part of the Artemis III mission planned for 2025 and Artemis IV for 2027. In its first crewed demonstration, the HLS will transport two astronauts in the final leg of the trip from Earth to the Moon [1] -- the HLS, together with the Getaway space station orbiting the Moon, is an essential element to the success of future Artemis missions.
Affordable and reliable means to transport humans and cargo are crucial to the success of NASA’s goal to return to the Moon and set a base where humans can learn to live in space. For more than ten years, SpaceX has launched rockets at a lower cost than most, if not all, space flight companies - a Falcon 9 launch has a tag price of at least one order of magnitude less than launches offered by other companies. In the last year, SpaceX also started launching rockets at an unprecedented rate - launching a Falcon 9 rocket almost every week. SpaceX also demonstrated its ability to develop the technology for critical NASA missions. The successful development of its Dragon capsule atop the Falcon 9 rocket revived America’s Space Flight program by transporting crew from and to the International Space Station.
To meet the demands of a mission that includes a Moon Base, SpaceX plans to use Starship, a Super Heavy rocket with the ability to carry more than 100 metric tons of cargo to Earth’s orbit. It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed and available for space exploration. SpaceX has been working on this fully reusable transportation system for many years, first as a transport to Mars and beyond, and now to service Earth orbit needs and Artemis missions to the Moon. In 2021, Starship SN15 successfully completed its first high-altitude test. Since then, SpaceX has focused on fully integrating the launch vehicle and building the launch pad for this mega-rocket.