NASA is increasingly concerned that SpaceX's Starship may not achieve the necessary lift capacity improvements in time to support a crewed lunar landing this decade under the Artemis Program. A new estimate suggests 22 Starship launches would be required in low-Earth orbit to fully fuel a Starship-based lunar lander for a Moon mission.
Background
NASA's Artemis Program aims to return humans to the Moon by the end of this decade, with SpaceX's Starship serving as the Human Landing System. The propellant resupply strategy in lunar orbit has been a key planning challenge.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Oct 23, 2026 at 05:52 AM
- Score
- 6.0 / 10