Monday, April 19, 2021

SpaceX Selected To Land Astronauts On The Moon

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has scored a groundbreaking contract to help land two American astronauts on the moon, according to NASA. NASA said Friday that it has selected SpaceX to continue development of the first commercial human lander on the Moon. The contract is worth $2.89 billion. NASA said that the Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit. There, two crew members will transfer to the SpaceX human landing system (HLS) for the final leg of their journey to the surface of the Moon, with the crew spending approximately a week exploring the surface of the moon before returning to earth. The lunar lander system will be based on the SpaceX Starship, which is currently under in very early testing in Texas.