NASA Revises SpaceX and Blue Origin Lander Routes for 2028 Moon Landing

NASA has changed how SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers would meet Orion, travel to lunar orbit and obtain the propellant needed for a planned 2028 crewed Moon landing. Under the agency’s revised lander plans, neither spacecraft is assigned yet to carry the first crew to the surface. Readiness will decide which company gets that mission.

The revision replaces a common rendezvous point near the Moon with two company-specific mission profiles. Orion and the landers will no longer meet in a near-rectilinear halo orbit, the elongated lunar orbit previously built into the architecture. SpaceX’s vehicle would meet Orion in Earth orbit, while Blue Origin’s would rendezvous with Orion in an elliptical polar orbit around the Moon.

Starship would push Orion toward the Moon

SpaceX still plans to aggregate cryogenic propellant in low Earth orbit. Multiple tanker Starships would transfer propellant to a depot spacecraft, which would then fuel the Starship human landing system. NASA says the revised route lowers the amount of propellant that must be accumulated compared with the earlier plan, but orbital propellant transfer remains a central technical requirement.

Once fueled, the Starship lander would wait for Orion in Earth orbit. After rendezvous and docking, Starship would conduct the burn that sends the combined spacecraft toward low lunar orbit. NASA is working to modify Orion so Starship can push the docked stack toward the Moon. Two astronauts would then use Starship to descend to the surface and return to Orion.

This architecture shifts a major maneuver from Orion to the commercial lander. It also gives NASA more flexibility over the timing of the crew launch aboard the Space Launch System rocket because Starship’s propellant campaign can occur before Orion departs. NASA says low lunar orbit would reduce both Starship’s propellant demand and the time needed for astronauts leaving the surface to reunite with Orion.

Blue Origin defers orbital refueling

Blue Origin’s accelerated 2028 profile takes a different approach. The company will defer propellant transfer and use three transfer stages to send its Blue Moon Mark 2 Alpha lander toward the Moon. The stages and lander would assemble in low Earth orbit, then depart as a stack. Each stage would separate after exhausting its propellant, much like the stages of a conventional launch vehicle.

Blue Moon would enter an elliptical polar lunar orbit, where Orion could dock with it. NASA says this orbit offers quicker returns from the lunar surface, lowers the lander’s propellant requirement and makes greater use of the performance available from the Space Launch System. The architecture also gives NASA multiple potential launch opportunities for sending Orion to the rendezvous.

The two plans therefore reduce the same schedule pressure through different engineering choices. SpaceX retains orbital refueling but cuts the amount of propellant it needs to assemble. Blue Origin avoids propellant transfer for the accelerated mission, at the cost of launching and integrating three expendable transfer stages.

Earth-orbit tests come before a landing

NASA has redefined Artemis III as a 2027 Earth-orbit demonstration rather than a lunar landing. Orion is planned to rendezvous and dock separately with test versions of both commercial landers. Astronauts would enter Blue Moon for approximately two days of cabin and system evaluations, while the Starship docking test would last up to two hours without crew entry.

Those tests are intended to verify communications, software, guidance, docking behavior and operating procedures before a crew relies on either lander near the Moon. Both companies must also complete an uncrewed demonstration with their crewed lander designs before NASA will certify one for an astronaut landing.

Contract changes add further checkpoints. SpaceX is adding two demonstrations of its Starship crew cabin. Blue Origin is adding human-in-the-loop tests and hardware-readiness milestones covering training and ground and flight operations. NASA says the added milestones will give it more visibility into development, reduce risk and support crew safety while accelerating readiness.

The schedule remains demanding. A NASA Office of Inspector General assessment found that both providers have encountered delays, technical difficulties and integration challenges. It also identified gaps in NASA’s testing posture and crew-survival analyses, despite proactive work to address hazards. The inspector general issued five recommendations covering financial oversight and crew safety.

NASA has also removed the old mission assignments under which SpaceX was tied to Artemis III and IV and Blue Origin to Artemis V. Both companies will participate in the Artemis III orbital test campaign, and both remain candidates for the first 2028 landing. The revised routes may reduce propellant and rendezvous burdens, but they do not substitute for flight evidence: NASA’s selection will follow the uncrewed demonstrations and depend on which lander is ready to carry astronauts safely to the surface and back.

By David Whitaker — Associate editor for AMI’s aerospace and drone systems desk, translating flight systems, aircraft programs, spaceflight, and UAV developments into accessible technical stories.