Jeff Bezos challenges NASA moon lander contract to SpaceX, Elon Musk mocks Blue Origin

Elon Musk made fun of Blue Origin for protesting against NASA's recent decision to hand over its contract for the lunar lander to SpaceX. The Jeff Bezos owned company said that the agency changed conditions at the last minute and now jeopardizes the entire mission.

The world's two richest men have been competing in the space race with their aerospace firms. The latest contest was for a NASA contract that sought a lander for its manned mission to the moon under its Artemis program. Elon Musk won over Jeff Bezos, as SpaceX was chosen to be the sole contractor for the job. The $2.9 billion contract was awarded to SpaceX by NASA earlier this month. In doing so, it turned down the bids by two other private space firms, including Blue Origin and a defence contractor from Alabama named Dynetics. Both the firms have now filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The companies accuse the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of changing conditions of contract bidders at the last minute.