WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The space race between U. S. billionaires is heating up, with Elon Musk's SpaceX planning to build a lunar base and Jeff Bezos pushing Blue Origin's ambitions as both companies aim to return humans to the moon ahead of a planned mission by China in 2030.

Artist's illustration of Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 1 lander on the lunar surface (Image credit: Blue Origin) 2026 is shaping up to be a spectacular year for lunar exploration, with a growing fleet of commercial missions set to attempt to land on Earth's celestial neighbor.