The program Artemis of the NASA is currently under pressure following in particular the appointment ofElon Musk to the government of Donald Trump. The Space Launch System (SLS), a super-heavy launcher developed by Boeingis in direct competition with the Starship of SpaceX. Although the SLS has already proven its reliability with the successful launch of the Orion capsule to the Moon in 2022, the exorbitant cost of its launches ($4.1 billion each) places it in a delicate position compared to Starship, the latter promising much lower costs (around $20 million per launch), mainly thanks to the return to Earth of the first stage (vertically). The Starship, however, remains in the development phase and is not yet operational, which complicates its rapid adoption for critical missions like Artemis II and III.
Despite the rapid progress of the Starship, its implementation raises numerous technical and logistical challenges, such as the need to carry out 18 launches to resupply a lunar mission, a procedure never before tested on this scale. The mission also faces political and economic issues, such as bipartisan support for Boeing and the risk of conflicts of interest linked to Elon Musk, which make the rapid cancellation of the SLS unlikely. The elements for Artemis II have already been delivered and the SLS now seems essential to ensure short-term missions. That being said, beyond Artemis III, the Starship could well regain control, NASA not ruling out the option of completely abandoning the SLS in the long term.
Canada
