Heavy Cargo: Starship, Blue Moon and Argonaut
Who will deliver tonnes rather than kilograms to the Moon, and when?
Chapter summary
Three heavy or medium cargo landers are in development.
Key takeaways
- 1
SpaceX's Starship can in principle land tens of tonnes, up to about 100 tonnes on company statements, once refuelling works; Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK1 lands about 3 tonnes and a cargo version of MK2 more; and Europe's Argonaut, contracted to Thales Alenia Space for €862 million in January 2025, is designed for about 1.5 tonnes of cargo from the early 2030s.
- 2
NASA's Moon Base plan relies on heavy cargo: its third phase assumes about 150 tonnes delivered.
- 3
None of these landers had reached the Moon by October 2026.
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