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Blue Origin, the space exploration company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has revealed a full-scale mock-up of its Blue Moon Mark 1 lander. The unveiling took place at Blue Origin’s engine manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama, and was attended by Bezos and NASA chief Bill Nelson. The Blue Moon Mark 1 is designed to transport cargo to the lunar surface and will initially be used for uncrewed missions to confirm the vehicle’s technology capabilities.

The cargo lander demonstrator, which stands almost three stories tall, has the capacity to deliver up to three metric tons to any location on the moon’s surface. This capability makes it suitable for a range of logistics, infrastructure, and science payloads. Future missions will use Blue Origin’s Mark 2 lander to transport astronauts to the moon.

No specific date has been announced for the first Mark 1 mission, but the first Mark 2 flight carrying astronauts to the lunar surface is currently scheduled for 2029 as part of the Artemis V mission. The Blue Moon lander will be launched on top of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, currently in development, and astronauts will transfer to the lander from the moon-orbiting Lunar Gateway facility.

NASA chief Bill Nelson expressed his admiration for the Blue Origin lander, describing it as “impressive”. Nelson also emphasized the importance of Blue Origin’s landing system in maintaining a steady presence of astronauts on the moon before future exploration missions to Mars. SpaceX, another space exploration company, is also scheduled to send humans to the moon using a modified version of its Starship spacecraft as part of the Artemis III mission in 2025.

The Artemis program, led by NASA, includes plans to establish a permanent lunar base for extended astronaut stays. Furthermore, the moon may also serve as a launch point for crewed missions to Mars and beyond.

Sources:

Blue Origin

NASA

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