NASA has outlined an ambitious new timeline for SpaceX and Blue Origin to demonstrate their lunar landers, placing both companies under mounting pressure as the agency targets its first astronaut landing on the moon since 1972.

American space agency NASA agains revises the profile of the upcoming crewed missions to the Moon, SpaceX and Blue Origin still to supply the landers.

NASA offered details Friday about the race to prepare two lunar landers built by Blue Origin and SpaceX, and the space agency’s rocket and spacecraft for a crucial test mission next year.

On Thursday, October 22, 2026, NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) warned that the agency’s Artemis lunar landing plans face acute technical risks, citing deep concerns over the operational maturity of unproven in-space cryogenic propellant transfer.

SpaceX, of course, is working hard to increase the flight rate of Starship. But even if SpaceX achieves “twice weekly” launches by the end of 2027, the company would still need about three months to fuel a depot for a Starship landing.

Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the c

The U.S. wants to get astronauts back on the moon by 2028, to beat China's 2030 goal.