NASA has chosen a team led by Blue Origin to develop a second human landing system for the Artemis program, joining SpaceX in the race to establish a long-term presence on the moon. The Blue Origin-led team includes Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics and has been awarded a contract valued at $3.4 billion. However, Blue Origin Vice President John Couluris stated that the company plans to contribute more than that, bringing the total cost of the project to at least $7 billion.

The contract, called Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD), involves both an uncrewed demonstration landing and a crewed demonstration landing. The team will develop the landing system for the Artemis V mission, scheduled for a launch no earlier than September 2029. This mission will use the lander developed by Blue Origin, known as Blue Moon, which will be sent to the lunar south pole. Blue Moon is designed to fit inside the payload bay of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Additionally, a cargo version of the lander capable of carrying up to 30 metric tons of cargo will be developed.

The Blue Origin-led team consists of various companies responsible for different aspects of the project. Lockheed Martin will build a “cislunar transporter” spacecraft for lander refueling, Draper will develop guidance, navigation, and control systems, as well as training and simulation, Astrobotic will handle cargo accommodations, Boeing will engineer the docking systems, and Honeybee Robotics will be responsible for cargo offloading capabilities.

NASA’s selection of Blue Origin comes after it chose SpaceX in April 2021 to develop a Starship human landing system for the Artemis program. The decision to select only one vendor led to protests from Blue Origin and Dynetics, which were later dismissed. Blue Origin even filed a lawsuit against NASA, but the court ruled in favor of the agency.

With both SpaceX and the Blue Origin-led team working on lunar landing systems, NASA aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. These developments mark an exciting chapter in space exploration as efforts intensify to expand human activities beyond Earth.

NASA has chosen a team led by Blue Origin to develop a second human landing system for the Artemis program, joining SpaceX in the race to establish a long-term presence on the moon. The Blue Origin-led team includes Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics and has been awarded a contract valued at $3.4 billion. However, Blue Origin Vice President John Couluris stated that the company plans to contribute more than that, bringing the total cost of the project to at least $7 billion.

The contract, called Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD), involves both an uncrewed demonstration landing and a crewed demonstration landing. The team will develop the landing system for the Artemis V mission, scheduled for a launch no earlier than September 2029. This mission will use the lander developed by Blue Origin, known as Blue Moon, which will be sent to the lunar south pole. Blue Moon is designed to fit inside the payload bay of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Additionally, a cargo version of the lander capable of carrying up to 30 metric tons of cargo will be developed.

The Blue Origin-led team consists of various companies responsible for different aspects of the project. Lockheed Martin will build a “cislunar transporter” spacecraft for lander refueling, Draper will develop guidance, navigation, and control systems, as well as training and simulation, Astrobotic will handle cargo accommodations, Boeing will engineer the docking systems, and Honeybee Robotics will be responsible for cargo offloading capabilities.

NASA’s selection of Blue Origin comes after it chose SpaceX in April 2021 to develop a Starship human landing system for the Artemis program. The decision to select only one vendor led to protests from Blue Origin and Dynetics, which were later dismissed. Blue Origin even filed a lawsuit against NASA, but the court ruled in favor of the agency.

With both SpaceX and the Blue Origin-led team working on lunar landing systems, NASA aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. These developments mark an exciting chapter in space exploration as efforts intensify to expand human activities beyond Earth.