OIG audit IG-26-004 from 10 March documented a finding beyond the schedule slip : NASA has no capability to rescue a crew stranded on the lunar surface or in space 1. The agency evaluated the option and found it cost-prohibitive. This is not a gap awaiting a solution. It is a policy decision.
The physical design of Starship raises its own questions. The vehicle stands 171 feet tall. At that height, it risks tipping on South Pole slopes exceeding NASA's own 8-degree terrain requirement 2. The crew cabin sits 115 feet above the surface, accessed by an elevator that is a single-point failure with no backup method for crew access or egress 3. If the elevator jams, the crew cannot reach the surface. If it jams on the surface, they cannot reach the cabin.
Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK2, assigned to Artemis V targeting 2030, is shorter at 53 feet and uses stairs rather than an elevator 4. It carries its own terrain risks, but the egress problem is structurally different.
The OIG's expected loss-of-crew probability threshold for lunar surface operations is 1 in 40 5. For comparison: Apollo operated at roughly 1 in 10. The Space Shuttle's actual record was 1 in 70, two losses in 135 missions. NASA is accepting a risk level between the two programmes that preceded it, while operating without the rescue capability that even Apollo's era studied.
