According to SpaceX, the refueling test and a long-duration flight test are planned for 2026, depending on the success of upcoming flights featuring the new Starship V3 architecture.
NASA Eyes Backup Plans
NASA has also asked Blue Origin, which holds a separate lunar lander contract, to propose accelerated development plans. Behind the scenes, other aerospace companies are quietly submitting “wild ideas” for alternative Moon missions, according to a report by Inside NASA’s scramble to find a backup moon plan.
But for now, SpaceX remains central to NASA’s lunar ambitions. The company insists it is on track to deliver the first human moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, and Musk has repeatedly stated that “Starship will get humans to the Moon — and beyond.”
With China’s lunar program advancing rapidly, and the U.S. facing political and technical hurdles, the coming years could define which nation leads the next era of human space exploration.
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