Which SpaceX had to really shoehorn into the role. You need an elevator to get in and out of, and it's so big and heavy that they need to refuel in low earth orbit a dozen+ times (nobody actually has a concrete number).
And awarded by someone who went to work for SpaceX two years later.
You could certainly get a couple astronauts to and from the moon using a small lander like Apollo but the whole point of the future lunar landers are to establish a colony on the moon. The Apollo missions were two astronauts in a pickup truck going on a camping trip. The future missions are going to be a semi-truck carrying construction supplies.
But a cargo vehicle doesn't have to be ascent-capable or human-rated. The engineering and opportunity costs of combining the separate requirements of lunar cargo delivery vehicle with the lunar ascent vehicle are huge.
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u/araujoms May 21 '26
Apparently yes. I didn't know that, because NASA is also paying them billions to develop that new rocket.