Next to get near the moon: who? when?

People near the moon again: who? when?

With Ares/Orion and NASA’s Constellation program apparently on the ropes, that raises a question. Who will be the next person to approach the moon? And when?

There are a number of possibilities. For example, China is methodically expanding it’s manned space flight capabilities. And they’ve announced plans to get people to the moon. But they’ve had few flights, with longs stretches in between. If the next person going to the moon, at the current pace it won’t be too soon.

Other countries have ambitions to send people to the moon. These include India and Japan. Private companies have been competing for the Google Lunar X-Prize...which is awarded for an unmanned landing with a rover.

The Russians would love to get to the moon, but like India and Japan, they’re don’t seem to have the budget for it. That said, the Russians will send an astronaut and space tourist around the moon—if they can find one to ante up $200 million. Seems unlikely.

I’m wondering about SpaceX. They’ve built a spacecraft, Dragon, and a rocket, Falcon 9, which will be capable of putting people into earth orbit. Dragon is also designed to perform rendezvous. SpaceX has won a contract to use the vehicle to re-supply the International Space Station.

What if Dragon docked with a rocket in space that provided the additional thrust needed for a loop around the moon? Is this doable? This maneuver was contemplated for a late Gemini flight. NASA decided to wait and use the better-suited Apollo hardware.

I’m going to pose this question to SpaceX. If I get a meaningful answer, I’ll post it here.