NASA expands its collaboration with SpaceX and Blue Origin for human presence on the Moon

NASA has announced an extension of its contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop specialized lunar cargo landers for the Artemis missions. These initiatives aim to strengthen humanity’s long-term presence on the Moon and include the delivery of a habitat and a pressurized rover in future missions. According to Stephen D. Creech from the Moon to Mars office, “having two lunar lander providers with different approaches ensures flexibility and a regular cadence of landings for continuous scientific discovery.”

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Both companies will carry out demonstration missions after passing the design certification reviews of the cargo variants of human landing systems, requested in 2023 and designed for the Artemis III, IV, and V missions. The Artemis program, which aims to return to the Moon after more than 50 years, has the ultimate goal of paving the way for Mars exploration. This effort combines technologies such as the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and lunar space stations.

SpaceX continues to develop its Starship spacecraft, crucial for taking astronauts and cargo to the lunar surface. On Tuesday, it successfully completed the sixth flight test of the spacecraft, which will also be used to transport a pressurized rover developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) starting in 2032. This rover will be essential for missions like Artemis VII and beyond.

For its part, Blue Origin, which is preparing another space tourism launch for this Friday, will deliver a lunar habitat starting in 2033. NASA assigned these missions based on the design and development progress of the cargo and crew systems. Lisa Watson-Morgan, from the Marshall Center, explained that these demonstrations aim to “optimize the technical experience and resources of NASA and the industry.”

A series of alliances aimed at establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon and paving the way for future deep exploration missions, while consolidating the goal of turning the Moon into a “stepping stone” to Mars.

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