A Dedicated HLS Starship Moon Mission is logical a possible, but can it be achieved?
The post looks at where things are at and where the need to be for such a Moon mission to proceed.
Can it be achieved?
There are some SpaceX milestones that need to be completed for the dedicated HLS Starship Moon mission to happen.
However, these are no different than what is needed for the Artemis mission. Therefore if one is possible, so is the other.
In orbit refueling needs to happen
This is due to be tested as part of overall Starship development. It is critical to all SpaceX missions beyond LEO.
Given the SpaceX success rate and rapid iteration of changes after trying something, there is every reason to believe this will be successful.
HLS needs to be built
The first HLS ship is expected to role out later in 2025 with a crew orbital test flight mid 2026.
Given the rapid build rate of new Starships, once they role one off the production line, they should be able to roll out more shortly after with any improvements.
Crew capable cabin
SpaceX has already proven they can create safe crew cabins as demonstrated in the Crew Dragon.
While the HLS habitat is bigger, there is every reason to believe they will succeed at this on time as well.
The design of the crew cabins is well underway with plans and prototypes already being discussed with NASA.
The Crew
NASA already has a crew lined up for the mission for Artemis. However if that still went ahead, more crew could be readied for this as it is a simpler mission in terms of the number of different ships involved.
However, the private Polaris missions have shown that an alternate crew to a NASA one could be readied in time it required.
Conclusion
Can a Dedicated HLS Starship Moon Mission be achieved? Yes it can.
None of the milestone vary from a combined Artemis mission, but the ongoing benefits are much higher.
With the right commitment, colonization of the Moon could be closer that currently expected.
Why not at least try?
Next . . .
In Part 4 Dedicated HLS Starship Moon Mission series we look at what happens next after the first mission is complete.