An early concept image of SpaceX’s lunar cargo lander, which NASA will need to deliver 26,000 to 33,000 pounds of payload to the Moon. Credit: NASA
NASA has chosen SpaceX and Blue Origin to deliver a lunar rover and habitat on the Moon within the next decade.
The space agency last week announced that it will award two lunar cargo demonstration missions, one to each partner, as part of the companies’ contracts to build human landing systems (HLS) for the Artemis lunar mission program.
SpaceX and Blue Origin are working under multibillion-dollar deals to develop the vehicles that will land Americans on the moon during Artemis III, Artemis IV and Artemis V. SpaceX’s Starship HLS will handle the first two missions, starting with Artemis III scheduled for late 2026. Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander, selected by NASA two years later, will fly on Artemis V.
The space agency in 2023, however, requested that both contractors design cargo versions of those manned systems. They will fly no earlier than the Artemis VII and are expected to deliver 26,000 to 33,000 pounds of payload.
“NASA is planning both crewed missions and future service missions to the Moon beyond Artemis V,” said Stephen Creech, assistant deputy associate administrator for technical services in NASA’s Moon to Mars program office. “Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches to crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued scientific discovery and opportunities.”
NASA is currently examining two lunar payload demonstration possibilities. One mission would send a cutting-edge lunar rover, under development by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), to the moon aboard a Starship cargo lander as early as fiscal 2032. Officials estimate it will explore the moon for about a decade and cross thousands of kilometers of rocky landscapes.
The other project would see Blue Origin deliver a “lunar surface habitat” to the moon as early as the following year. The lunar habitat appears to be a newly announced piece of hardware, and it’s unclear whether Blue Origin will build it. NASA did not immediately respond FLYthe request for further information.
“These large cargo lander demonstration missions aim to optimize our NASA and industry technical expertise, resources and funding as we prepare for the future of deep space exploration,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager HLS at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA said it plans to send requests for proposals to SpaceX and Blue Origin early next year.
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared on FLY.
