NASA will evaluate the lunar landing systems built by SpaceX and Blue Origin before deciding which company will provide the lander for Artemis IV, the mission meant to put astronauts back on the Moon's surface in 2028. Both companies must show their technology is ready to carry people to the lunar surface.
The agency plans an uncrewed demonstration from SpaceX at the end of 2027, while Blue Origin plans to test its system during 2028. The results will determine whether either system is ready to take part in a crewed mission. The announcement came during a presentation by Artemis program officials at the Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX proposes using a version of its Starship vehicle adapted for landing. It would have to work alongside the Orion capsule, which will carry the astronauts, to complete the maneuvers needed before descent. If SpaceX meets its technical goals in the uncrewed test, the company would move toward a crewed demonstration in the second half of 2028. Before carrying people, it must show that its system can safely carry out the planned operations to reach the lunar surface.
Blue Origin, the company backed by Jeff Bezos, is building its approach around the Blue Moon lunar module. Its design uses three vehicles that would act as tugs to move the crewed module into a polar orbit around the Moon. There, the lander would meet the astronauts who arrive aboard Orion, and the operations to continue the descent would follow. Blue Origin's schedule includes a first uncrewed landing test in 2028, which would allow it to assess performance before any crewed use.
Although both companies share the goal of returning humans to the Moon, their designs differ in important ways. For that reason, the tests will be essential for comparing performance and determining whether each system meets the safety and operational requirements set by NASA.
The review of the lunar landers is not the only change in the U.S. plans. NASA is also reshaping Artemis III, which will no longer have a lunar landing as its main goal. Instead, the mission will focus on tests in Earth orbit. It plans to send four astronauts into Earth orbit for about 14 days in the summer of 2027. During that period, the crew will practice rendezvous and docking maneuvers between the Orion capsule and prototypes of the vehicles developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
These exercises will help verify procedures considered fundamental for future lunar missions and provide information on how the spacecraft work together. The experience should also help identify possible difficulties before operations are carried out hundreds of thousands of kilometers from Earth.
The choice of lunar lander for Artemis IV will depend on the demonstration results and on each company's ability to meet its planned timelines. NASA also wants a more direct role in the technology's development. It plans to have its own staff work alongside suppliers to identify and resolve possible technical problems more quickly.
The return of astronauts to the lunar surface will depend largely on whether these technologies pass the planned tests. SpaceX and Blue Origin remain in contention, but both must show their systems are prepared for one of the most complex operations in modern space exploration. NASA's goal is for Artemis IV to mark a new chapter in human presence on the Moon.