"We're going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the Moon first," NASA administrator Sean Duffy said on Fox News. "I'm in the process of opening that contract up. I think we'll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others."

Blue Origin is the Jeff Bezos-founded rival of SpaceX. That company currently has the contract for the fifth planned mission of the multibillion-dollar Artemis program.

"I love SpaceX. It's an amazing company. The problem is, they're behind. They pushed their timelines out and we're in a race against China," Duffy, who is also the US transportation secretary, said.

"The president and I want to get to the Moon in this president's term, so I'm going to open up the contract."

The US space agency's Artemis program hopes to return humans to the Moon as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.

US President Donald Trump's second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress.

Duffy later said on X that the US is "in a race against China so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon FIRST."

SpaceX currently has the contract, he said, but "competition and innovation are the keys to our dominance in space."

Trump, who announced the Artemis program during his first term, wants the US space agency to return to the Moon as soon as possible and also voyage to Mars.

Multiple setbacks have delayed a manned mission to voyage to the Moon -- but not land -- known as Artemis 2, but NASA said recently it is scheduled for April 2026 and could come as soon as February.

"We intend to keep that commitment," said Lakiesha Hawkins, a top NASA official, at a press briefing last month.

Three US astronauts and one Canadian comprise the Artemis 2 crew, which is expected to be the first to fly by the Moon in more than half a century.