NASA originally intended to award contracts to two companies to construct human lunar landers for Artemis in order to stimulate competition and keep costs down. The government intended to choose two finalists from among three: SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics. However, the agency finally picked one, owing to budgetary restrictions. NASA sought $3.4 billion from Congress in 2021 to support the construction of the Artemis lunar landers but obtained just $850 million, or less than a quarter of what was requested. As a consequence, NASA selected SpaceX, in part because the business submitted the lowest proposal.
The choice to choose just one business, on the other hand, did not sit well with the losing finalists. Blue Origin then sued NASA in federal court over the selection, but eventually lost. Despite the lawsuit, NASA administrator Bill Nelson reaffirmed his desire for two lunar lander providers in the future, expressing optimism that Congress will support the programme. And at one time, it appeared as though Congress might instruct NASA to do this. The Senate Appropriations Committee presented a measure in October directing NASA to select a second firm to construct the Artemis lunar lander. However, the most recent budget bill put into law for 2022 did not require NASA to do so, but it did provide the space agency with the entire $1.195 billion requested for lunar landers development.
