Jared Isaacman and the race between SpaceX and Blue Origin to the Moon

“I think both companies understand that whichever lander is ready first, to help ensure the US achieves its strategic goals on the Moon, will be our choice,” Jared Isaacman told Bloomberg after being confirmed by the US Senate as head of NASA.

SpaceX, the aerospace company of billionaire Elon Musk, and Blue Origin, the company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, both signed contracts with NASA to build spacecraft to carry astronauts to the surface of the Moon.

This year, SpaceX’s Starship launch system prototype has performed five test launches into orbit, of which the last two were successful. According to the plan, SpaceX will use an improved version of Starship to send astronauts to the Moon in 2027, in the Artemis III mission. But in October, Sean Duffy – then head of NASA, reopened the contract and declared SpaceX “slow on schedule”, and suggested that NASA could choose Blue Origin’s spacecraft for this historic mission. Musk then called Duffy a “fool” and claimed SpaceX would eventually “perform the entire mission to the Moon itself.”

Blue Origin made many notable strides this year. On November 13, the first stage of New Glenn, a reusable rocket built by the company, returned for the first time after a successful launch and landing. On December 20, the New Shepard launch vehicle carried female aerospace engineer Michaela (Michi) Benthaus into suborbital space, marking the first time in the world that people in wheelchairs could access space. However, Blue Moon – Blue Origin’s lunar lander, is still in the development and assembly stage and has never been tested.

Theo Business InsiderIsaacman has a closer relationship with SpaceX than Blue Origin. The billionaire worked as a private astronaut and twice flew on SpaceX missions in 2021 and 2024, and participated in the first commercial spacewalk in history. The relationship with Musk almost caused Isaacman to lose the highest position at NASA, when US President Donald Trump temporarily withdrew his nomination earlier this year, amid a fierce argument between Mr. Trump and Musk.

Last week, President Trump signed a new executive order, setting the goal of returning Americans to the Moon by 2028, ready to launch a nuclear reactor and establish a permanent outpost on the Moon by 2030. He confirmed his priority to return astronauts to the Moon as soon as possible and temporarily put aside plans to explore Mars.