NASA Expands Lunar Exploration Efforts with Blue Origin and SpaceX
NASA, in partnership with industry and international collaborators, is advancing the Artemis program to facilitate long-term exploration of the Moon. This initiative aims to drive scientific discovery and technological innovation for the benefit of humanity.
As part of these efforts, NASA is expanding its collaboration with Blue Origin and SpaceX, tasking the companies with additional work under their existing contracts. The focus will be on developing advanced lunar landers to deliver critical equipment and infrastructure to the Moon’s surface.
To further the goals of the Artemis program, NASA will assign demonstration missions to SpaceX and Blue Origin, leveraging their expertise in lunar landing systems. These missions will refine designs for large cargo landers, following successful design certification reviews.
NASA had previously requested both companies to develop cargo variants of their human landing systems, already in progress for Artemis III, IV, and V missions. These efforts will play a key role in supporting missions on the Moon beyond Artemis V.
SpaceX is set to deliver a pressurized rover to the lunar surface by 2032 to support Artemis VII and subsequent missions. In addition, Blue Origin will deliver a lunar surface habitat by 2033. Both companies are tasked with continuing the development of their respective cargo landers, with SpaceX working under the NextSTEP Appendix H contract, while Blue Origin will conduct its mission under Appendix P. NASA is expected to issue initial proposals to both companies in early 2025.
This expansion of lunar exploration efforts highlights NASA’s commitment to advancing technology and fostering scientific breakthroughs, as the Artemis program sets the stage for future missions to Mars.
