SpaceX accelerates lunar mission plan under pressure from NASA.

As criticism mounts over delays in rocket development at NASA, Elon Musk's SpaceX has proposed a faster astronaut lunar landing plan. The company quietly disclosed the new plan in a lengthy update posted on its official website on Thursday, just over a week after NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk announced that SpaceX's lunar landing contract would be open to competitors. SpaceX stated: "We have submitted and are formally evaluating simplified mission architectures and operations concepts, believing that this will accelerate the return to the moon process and enhance astronaut safety." Under the $4 billion contract signed with NASA, the company is required to convert its giant Starship rocket into a lunar lander capable of transporting astronauts to and from the moon's surface. SpaceX has committed to have the Starship ready for NASA's "Artemis III" mission, marking the first American moon landing in over half a century.