NASA has awarded SpaceX a contract to build a lunar module

The US space agency NASA has awarded Elon Musk's space company SpaceX a $ 2.9 billion contract to build a lunar module. This spacecraft is expected to take astronauts to the moon from 2024. As Nasa manager Lisa Watson-Morgan announced, SpaceX won a corresponding tender to develop the new lander for manned lunar missions. The space company Blue Origin of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the armaments company Dynetics had also applied for the contract. "NASA rules !!", wrote Tesla founder Musk on Twitter after the announcement. SpaceX also responded on Twitter: "We are honored to help @NASAArtemis usher in a new era in human space exploration." The US Federal Space Agency wants to bring astronauts back to the moon for the first time since 1972. Its aim is to be able to carry out regular missions to the moon. According to NASA, SpaceX's spaceship contains a spacious cabin and two airlocks for astronauts to walk on the moon. The design offers a fully reusable take-off and landing system that is suitable for trips to the moon, Mars and other destinations in space. The Artemis 1 mission is scheduled to start as a test flight to the moon at the end of this year. Initially without a crew, she is supposed to orbit the moon and then return to earth. With Artemis 2, astronauts are expected to orbit the moon in 2023. Only Artemis 3 will actually land on Earth's satellite with astronauts in 2024.