In developmentTrust: Agency-primaryLast verified 2026-05-28

Starship HLS

Artemis III Crewed Landing

Selected April 2021 as sole HLS provider for Artemis III. Architecture requires Super Heavy launch + multiple Starship tanker refueling flights in LEO + transit to NRHO + rendezvous with Orion (SLS). NASA OIG IG-26-004 (March 2026) flagged crew-rescue capability as open risk. October 2025: NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy reopened Artemis III lander contract to competition due to Starship development pace.

Mission specifications

Operator: SpaceX
Prime contractor: SpaceX
Launch: 2027 (NET — Artemis III)
Landing site: Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S)
Customer: NASA-HLS
Payload: ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target)as of 2024-04-16^[2]Largest crewed lunar lander ever contracted. Stands ~50 m tall — 15-story building scale. Elevator transfers crew between cabin and surface.
Contract value: $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B totalas of 2022-11-15^[3]Original Option A (Artemis III, April 2021) $2.89B; Option B (Artemis IV sustained, November 2022) added $1.15B. Total HLS ceiling $4.5B.

Source bibliography

[1]
NASAretrieved 2026-05-28
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/nasa-awards-spacex-second-contract-option-for-artemis-moon-landing/
[2]
NASAretrieved 2026-05-28
https://www.nasa.gov/reference/human-landing-systems/
[3]
NASA OIG IG-26-004retrieved 2026-05-28
https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/final-report-ig-26-004-nasas-management-of-the-human-landing-system-contracts.pdf
[4]
SpaceNewsretrieved 2026-05-28
https://spacenews.com/duffy-says-nasa-will-open-artemis-3-lander-contract-to-competition/

In developmentTrust: Agency-primaryLast verified 2026-05-28

Starship HLS

Artemis III Crewed Landing

Mission specifications

Operator: SpaceX
Prime contractor: SpaceX
Launch: 2027 (NET — Artemis III)
Landing site: Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S)
Customer: NASA-HLS
Payload: ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target)as of 2024-04-16^[2]Largest crewed lunar lander ever contracted. Stands ~50 m tall — 15-story building scale. Elevator transfers crew between cabin and surface.
Contract value: $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B totalas of 2022-11-15^[3]Original Option A (Artemis III, April 2021) $2.89B; Option B (Artemis IV sustained, November 2022) added $1.15B. Total HLS ceiling $4.5B.

Source bibliography

[1]
NASAretrieved 2026-05-28
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/nasa-awards-spacex-second-contract-option-for-artemis-moon-landing/
[2]
NASAretrieved 2026-05-28
https://www.nasa.gov/reference/human-landing-systems/
[3]
NASA OIG IG-26-004retrieved 2026-05-28
https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/final-report-ig-26-004-nasas-management-of-the-human-landing-system-contracts.pdf
[4]
SpaceNewsretrieved 2026-05-28
https://spacenews.com/duffy-says-nasa-will-open-artemis-3-lander-contract-to-competition/

Starship HLS

Mission specifications

Source bibliography

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Starship HLS

Mission specifications

Source bibliography

Related