UPI 12/23/2020
Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and a lesser-known company, Huntsville, Ala.-based Dynetics, are preparing for a major decision by NASA early in 2021 about which company will build human-carrying landers for trips to the moon.
The three space firms were selected in April to submit proposals early this month. Having done that, they now await NASA's decision, which is scheduled for February. The space agency has indicated it could pick one or two of the proposals.
At stake is the future of lunar exploration for the United States and large, multimillion-dollar contracts as part of NASA's planned Artemis program. The agency had a goal of landing people on the moon again by 2024, although Congress hasn't funded NASA's budget requests to meet that schedule.
A contract for a human lander may be awarded, but it's not clear if such landers will be built anytime soon, said Marco Cáceres, space analyst for the Teal Group based in Fairfax, Va.
More:
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/12/23/SpaceX-Blue-Origin-Dynetics-await-NASA-lunar-lander-decision/1801604512668/
