This year will mark a turning point in humanity’s relationship with the moon, as we begin to lay the foundations for a permanent presence on its surface, paving the way for our natural satellite to become an industrial hub—one that will lead us to Mars and beyond.
Developing a lunar economy boils down to three critical elements: the ability to get there, the means to refuel for the return journey, and profitable enterprises operating on the lunar surface. And, in 2025, technologies in all three areas will finally begin to take tangible shape.
For nearly a decade, the titans of private space exploration—SpaceX and Blue Origin—have been locked in a race to get to the moon. SpaceX’s latest rocket, Starship, is central to this effort. At nearly double the height (121 meters vs. 70 meters), and three times the width (9 meters vs 3.7 meters) of its predecessor, Falcon 9, Starship certainly has the size—but it’s also designed to change how we think about space travel. Unlike traditional rockets, which are used once and then discarded, Starship can be reused for multiple flights and even refueled while it’s in orbit. Its increased power means it can deliver about 100 metric tons of payload to the moon in a single trip—that’s roughly equivalent to all payloads sent to the moon in history combined, but in just one go.
Traditional rockets can deliver only about 0.1 percent of their total takeoff weight to the moon, but Starship, with its refueling capability, can deliver approximately 2 percent. Picture this: If a traditional rocket were a moving truck, it’d be like using an 18-wheeler to deliver one suitcase. With Starship, the cost per ton of payload delivered to the lunar surface plummets, making moon missions more affordable.
Not far behind is Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. While it may be smaller than Starship, with a capacity of nearly 3 metric tons, Blue Moon is designed to deliver heavy equipment and infrastructure, the tools that will turn the moon from a barren outpost into a thriving industrial base. Together, these vehicles are laying the groundwork for a nascent lunar economy.
In 2025, SpaceX plans to demonstrate Starship’s full suite of capabilities, including its ability to refuel in orbit and be reused—slashing the costs of lunar transport and making the moon more accessible than ever. This is part of an ongoing series of orbital flight tests, which began in 2023 and continued through 2024, and will do so in 2025.
