As NASA continues its everlasting mission to explore the stars, the agency has announced a major new partner. Friday, the outfit revealed Blue Origin has been hired to craft the lunar module for Artemis V, a mission that is set to take a crew of astronauts to the lunar surface in what could be one of NASA’s most elaborate Moon-exploring missions yet.
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“Today we are excited to announce Blue Origin will build a human landing system as NASA’s second provider to deliver Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a press event. “We are in a golden age of human spaceflight, which is made possible by NASA’s commercial and international partnerships. Together, we are making an investment in the infrastructure that will pave the way to land the first astronauts on Mars.”
NASA awarded Blue Origin, owned by former Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, a contract worth $3.4 billion. On top of the design and development work, Blue Origin is responsible for developing a lander that will be used in an uncrewed demonstration mission that will land on the lunar surface ahead of Artemis V’s scheduled launch in 2029.
“Having two distinct lunar lander designs, with different approaches to how they meet NASA’s mission needs, provides more robustness and ensures a regular cadence of Moon landings,” added Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager, Human Landing System Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “This competitive approach drives innovation, brings down costs, and invests in commercial capabilities to grow the business opportunities that can serve other customers and foster a lunar economy.”
After a successful Artemis I launch earlier this year, NASA’s sights are next set on Artemis II. The 2024 mission expected to last around 10 days, and will follow a similar flight path to that of Artemis I late last year. The program and crew is currently set to launch to space next November, giving them nearly two full years to prepare for the mission. While those on the crew won’t return to the lunar surface—something being saved for Artemis III in 2025—they will be the humans to travel furthest in space since Apollo 13 in 1970.
