NASA's Artemis moon programme is being supported by businesses like SpaceX, Boeing Co., and Lockheed Martin Corp. that are working on next missions as the agency gets ready to launch its first lunar rocket next month.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Artemis programme aims to, among other things, use a variety of spacecraft created by a number of major aerospace firms and smaller suppliers to send astronauts back to the moon's surface for the first time since 1972.

According to a report last week by Lockheed Martin, NASA has purchased three additional Orion spacecraft, which will be used for the sixth through eighth Artemis missions. According to Lockheed, which is now constructing Orions for the second through fifth Artemis flights, the most recent order was for around $2 billion.

According to a spokeswoman, Boeing is also developing gear for SLS vehicles intended for those missions. According to a recent NASA procurement document, a joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman Corp. is in line to be awarded a contract to produce at least five additional Space Launch System rockets for upcoming launches. 

According to the agency's procurement document, one of the reasons NASA wanted to give the contract to the Boeing-Northrop partnership was the companies' expertise in producing SLS rockets. The main component of the rocket, which houses sizable fuel tanks, was built by Boeing as part of the SLS project.

The rocket's mounted boosters, made by Northrop, are intended to deliver a strong lift during takeoff and the opening stages of flight. A SpaceX executive revealed on Monday that the business has been working on a number of ground tests that would come before the Starship launch vehicle's first orbital test flight, a variant of which NASA wants to deploy for the third Artemis mission.

The vehicle's function on that mission, which is presently scheduled for 2025, would be to convey two humans from Orion to the moon's surface.

As it strives to develop a vehicle capable of carrying NASA personnel to the moon's surface, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. vice president Jessica Jensen stated at an industry event that the corporation aims to first launch its own Starlink satellites using Starship. During that mission, which is presently scheduled for 2025, the vehicle would be used to transfer two men from Orion to the moon's surface.

Vice President of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Jessica Jensen stated at a business conference that the organisation intends to use Starship to launch its own Starlink satellites before developing a spacecraft that can carry NASA astronauts to the moon's surface.

According to her, this would enable the business to 'incrementally build up the capabilities that it takes [to] securely land humans on the moon.' One of the Elon Musk-led company's ambitions, according to Mr. Musk, is to launch Starship on an orbital test mission.