---
title: "SpaceX Gets Huge Check From NASA for Moon Mission"
description: "SpaceX just got its first round of funds from NASA to develop a lunar lander capable of sending the first astronauts to the surface of the Moon."
date: "2021-08-16"
modified: "2021-08-16"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-funding-nasa-moon-mission"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "the digest"
---

# SpaceX Gets Huge Check From NASA for Moon Mission

![SpaceX just got its first round of funds from NASA to develop a lunar lander capable of sending the first astronauts to the surface of the Moon.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spacex-funding-nasa-moon-mission.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Cash Injection

SpaceX just got its first big round of funds from NASA to develop a lunar lander capable of sending the first astronauts to the surface of the Moon since the Apollo missions.

The Elon Musk-led company received a $300 million payment on July 30, according to [official open source data](<https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_80MSFC20C0034_8000_-NONE-_-NONE->) that was [spotted by keen-eyed SpaceX enthusiasts](<https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/p46pn3/chaching_spacex_received_300m_payment_from_hls/>) on Reddit.

It's the first payment SpaceX is owed since it [was awarded](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-chooses-spacex-moon-lander>) NASA's coveted $2.9 billion Human Landing Systems (HLS) contract earlier this year. Despite [several protests](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/in-stunning-reversal-nasa-halts-2-9-billion-contract-with-spacex>) filed by competitors Blue Origin and Dynetics, the space company [remains](<https://futurism.com/category/space>) the only contractor developing the lander for NASA.

In other words, NASA is holding up its end of the deal the money, and the money is starting to flow in to get SpaceX's Starship to the Moon.

## Option A

According to a [recent report](<https://www.gao.gov/assets/b-419783.pdf>) by the US Government Accountability Office, NASA has $345 million at its disposal for "Option A contract payments" this fiscal year, meaning that SpaceX has received most of the 2021 funding made available to the agency.

Blue Origin has [put all of its weight behind](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-mocks-jeff-bezos-orbit>) getting NASA to sign it on as a SpaceX competitor. Founder Jeff Bezos has even pledged to give NASA [a $2 billion discount](<https://futurism.com/bezos-nasa-offer-contract>) to sweeten the deal for the underfunded space agency.

Astonishingly, SpaceX has received less funding than Blue Origin as part of the HLS contract. Blue Origin's National Team [was awarded](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-names-companies-to-develop-human-landers-for-artemis-moon-missions>) hundreds of millions during an early round of funding from NASA to design a lander in April 2020.

To date, Blue Origin has received a [total of $479.7 million](<https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_80MSFC20C0020_8000_-NONE-_-NONE->) from NASA for the HLS contract. SpaceX has received only $439.6 million out of the $2.9 billion to date.

In short, SpaceX is doing more with less and Elon Musk hasn't shied away from [throwing that in the face](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-roasts-jeff-bezos>) of Blue Origin.

For now, SpaceX is [racing ahead](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-starships-fuel-moon>) with its plans to complete the first orbital launch of its Starship spacecraft. And given its track record over the last couple of years, the Moon may now be just around the corner.

**READ MORE:** [SpaceX receives first major Starship Moon lander funding from NASA](<https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-moon-lander-first-nasa-funding/>) \[*Teslarati*\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[Elon Musk: Each Starship Could Travel to Mars a Dozen Times](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/starship-travel-mars-dozen>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)