(Credit: Blue Origin)
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Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin says it's willing to "move heaven and Earth" to get NASA to the lunar surface before the Chinese. "We just want to help the US get to the Moon," CEO Dave Limp said this weekend, Ars Technica reports. "And I think we have some good ideas."
The Artemis program is on track to send humans for a lunar fly-by in 2026 using NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). For years, the plan has been for SpaceX's Starship to take humans back to the Moon's surface in 2027 or 2028. However, with Starship yet to reach orbit, let alone demonstrate the numerous orbital refueling trips required to make it possible to reach the moon, NASA has reopened the contract to consider alternative options.
Blue Origin has already pitched NASA on a redesign of its Mark 1 cargo lander, which could be rated for human transportation. It's been working on a Blue Moon Mark 2 module for some time, which is currently planned for use around 2030 for the Artemis V mission. But in developing the Mark 2, Blue Origin says it's learned enough that its Mark 1 cargo lander could be modified into a "Mark 1.5" that could get humans to the Moon safely.
Blue Origin suspected that NASA would consider alternatives as 2025 dragged on, so it had an option ready to go as soon as NASA opened up the contract.
“We’ve sent our initial summary of [the Mark 1.5] over, and we have a full report of that due here shortly,” Limp said. “I’m not going to go into the details because I think that’s probably for NASA to talk about, not us, but we have some ideas that we think could accelerate the path to the Moon. And I hope NASA takes a close look.”
One of the reasons NASA awarded the original Artemis III contract to SpaceX was due to its reusability. But four years after receiving the contract, Starship still has to demonstrate many of the capabilities that will need to be routine for Artemis III. With China accelerating its own lunar landing endeavors, NASA has been forced to seek out faster solutions.