The United States will seek competitors to SpaceX for the Artemis 3 mission to the moon, Reuters reported, citing Sean Duffy, acting head of NASA and Secretary of Transportation. According to the US space agency, Elon Musk's SpaceX is behind schedule, BTA reported.
He said that the procedure for opening up to new participants is underway. "I think companies like "Blue" can participate, and maybe others," Sean Duffy told the Fox & Friends program on "Fox News" television.
"Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, is a competitor to SpaceX. "We're going to have a space race between American companies to see who can get us back to the moon first," added Sean Duffy.
NASA's multi-billion dollar Artemis program aims to put Americans back on the moon, with China planning to land an astronaut on Earth's moon in 2030, Reuters reports.
According to Duffy, SpaceX is behind schedule and could leave the United States behind its rivals, and US President Donald Trump wants the mission to take place before his term in office ends in January 2029.
"They're behind schedule and the president wants to be "I'm sure we'll be ahead of the Chinese," Duffy told Fox News. The Artemis 2 mission, a 10-day trip around the moon and back involving systems built by Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, is scheduled to launch in April 2026, but could be pushed back to February. Bezos and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp are believed to have spoken to Trump over the summer, when the Republican president was feuding with Musk. He supported Trump in the 2024 election, spearheading a broad campaign to cut the federal government, known as DOGE. Representatives from SpaceX and Blue Origin were not immediately available for comment, Reuters noted.