SpaceX's Starship Launch Crucial for NASA's Moon Return, Says Elon Musk

SpaceX's Starship megarocket launch in April is crucial to NASA's Artemis moon program, as it will determine whether the program is on track for success. NASA has awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to use Starship to help the agency land the first humans on the moon since 1972. Starship will act as the mission's lunar lander, while NASA's Orion spacecraft will take astronauts to the moon's orbit. NASA's dependence on Starship was evident when the agency asked SpaceX's president whether Musk's Twitter acquisition would affect the company's mission. SpaceX's success is part of NASA's grand design to bring commercial actors into the heart of its upcoming missions.