Big Trouble on the Moon for Starship Landing – What SpaceX Is Facing Now

Meta Description:
SpaceX’s ambitious Starship Moon landing is facing serious challenges. From lunar dust to landing stability, here’s the real trouble Starship may encounter on the Moon—and what it means for Artemis.

---

SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander, chosen by NASA for the Artemis program, is at the center of one of the most daring space missions in modern history: returning humans to the Moon. But recent technical updates and expert concerns suggest there’s big trouble brewing for Starship’s Moon landing—and it could delay or even jeopardize the mission.

---

🚀 Why Starship Is Headed to the Moon

In 2021, NASA selected SpaceX’s Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon for Artemis III, currently planned for 2026–2027. The vehicle will be the largest spacecraft to ever attempt a Moon landing, offering:

• Fully reusable design

• Room for up to 6 astronauts

• Cargo capacity for lunar infrastructure

• Long-term potential for Mars missions

But size isn’t everything—and it may actually be part of the problem.

---

⚠️ The Problems Facing Starship’s Moon Landing

1. Lunar Dust: The Deadliest Enemy

When the Apollo missions landed, lunar dust (regolith) sprayed in all directions, damaging nearby equipment. Now imagine that same spray—but from 33 Raptor engines at the base of a 50-meter-tall Starship.

• Risk of surface erosion beneath the lander

• Dust could blind sensors or coat solar panels

• Potential damage to Artemis base structures in future missions

NASA is concerned about "plume effects"—where the powerful exhaust could blast craters into the Moon’s surface.

---

2. Landing Stability on Uneven Terrain

Starship is tall and narrow, raising the risk of toppling on uneven lunar terrain.

• The Moon has no atmosphere, so no parachute correction

• If landing legs fail to stabilize or sink into soft regolith, the entire vehicle could tip over

• This is especially dangerous for crewed landings

Elon Musk acknowledged the issue in 2025:

“We’ll probably need a landing platform—or dig pads with robotic systems before we bring humans.”

---

3. No Abort System

Unlike NASA’s Orion capsule, Starship does not currently have a launch escape system for its lunar variant. If something goes wrong during descent or ascent:

• Astronauts have no backup

• There's no escape pod or abort thrusters

• This raises serious safety concerns among NASA and ESA reviewers

---

4. Refueling Logistics

Starship needs to be refueled in orbit before heading to the Moon. That means launching 8–10 Starship tankers to top it up.

• This complex choreography has never been done before

• Any failure could scrap the entire mission

• Adds risk, cost, and potential delays to the timeline

---

🧭 What’s Being Done About It?

• SpaceX is testing new landing leg prototypes

• Lunar simulation zones at Starbase are now in use to model regolith behavior

• NASA may provide a lunar landing pad robot, or require one before crewed flights

• Ascent engines are being redesigned to minimize regolith kick-up

---

🆚 Starship vs Other Lunar Landers

Feature	Starship HLS	Blue Moon (Blue Origin)	Dynetics ALPACA
Crew Capacity	6 (planned)	4	2
Lunar Dust Mitigation	Ongoing issue	Vertical lander legs	Low thrust profile
Abort System	None (currently)	Under development	Built-in
Lunar Refueling Required	Yes (orbital)	No	No