SpaceX, which has been testing its massive Starship spacecraft from South Texas, has proposed to NASA a new plan for a moon lander.

A newly upgraded version of SpaceX’s Starship rocket suffered an apparent failure during a ground test early Friday in South Texas, according to bystander footage of the event.

The delays elicited concern from industry experts, Congress, and NASA about SpaceX’s ability to land astronauts on the Moon by mid-2027. In October, Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy reopened the Artemis 3 contract to other spaceflight companies in an effort to light a fire under SpaceX and investigate alternative options.

At this rate, Starship will not be ready in time for NASA's schedule. NASA may have no choice but to postpone the launch of its next mission to land astronauts on the moon by more than a year. Growing pains for SpaceX's massive Starship rocket over the past year have stunted the timeline for the still-developing launch vehicle and spacecraft,

SpaceX, billionaire Elon Musk's commercial rocket company, says it's working on a "simplified" plan for its Starship to land astronauts on the moon.

NASA is looking for more ideas for Artemis III lunar landers amid concerns for the progress of SpaceX's Starship megarocket.

SpaceX announced major progress in the development of Starship, which has been selected by NASA to return astronauts to the Moon.