NASA Seeks Backup Plan for Carrying Astronauts to the Moon

An anonymous reader shared this report from CNN:
[C]iting delays in Starship's development and competitive pressure from China, NASA asked SpaceX and Blue Origin — which holds a separate lunar lander contract with the space agency — to submit plans to expedite development of their respective spacecraft by October 29. Both companies have responded. But the space agency is also asking the broader commercial space industry to detail how they might get the job done more quickly, hinting that NASA leadership is prepared to sideline its current partners. CNN spoke with half a dozen companies about how they plan to respond to NASA's call to action, which the agency will formally issue once the government shutdown ends, according to a source familiar with the matter.

One possibility is Lockheed Martin...

Notably, as a legacy NASA contractor, the company built the $20.4 billion Orion spacecraft that astronauts will ride when they take off from Earth... Now, Lockheed says it can piece together a two-stage lunar lander that uses spare parts harvested from Orion. The company would make use of Space Shuttle-era OMS-E engines — which are also used on Orion — to serve as the propulsion for an 'ascent stage' of the lunar lander, providing the thrust for the vehicle to lift off the moon after a mission is completed. But the vehicle also needs a descent stage to get down to the lunar surface in the first place...

Other commercial space companies contacted by CNN — including Firefly Aerospace and Northrop Grumman — said simply that they were 'ready to support' NASA in its endeavor to find a faster way to complete the Artemis III mission. They did not confirm whether they would formally respond to the space agency's anticipated request for companies to submit proposals.

The more important goal, argue some experts, is to pave the way for a permanent lunar base where astronauts can live and work...

[P]erhaps the true winner will be the country that is able to build lasting infrastructure, experts say.
'It makes great press fodder to frame this as competition,' said one space policy source, who was among several that spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity to discuss controversial issues. 'But this is about the long game and the sustainability.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.