After losing to SpaceX last year, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin makes another attempt for NASA’s lucrative moon contract
According to Bloomberg, the US plans to propose new ideas for vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to and from the moon, putting Elon Musk‘s Space Exploration Technologies Corp to the test.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said earlier this week that it intends to submit a draught request for ideas for moon lander concepts for missions following the Artemis III programme, which seeks to send astronauts to the moon in 2025. SpaceX will assist Artemis with its inaugural lunar landings.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson refused to say how much the agency might spend on the new initiative. According to Bloomberg, he stated that details would be included in President Joe Biden’s budget plan next week.
Meanwhile, extra competition could pave the way for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC to receive an award. The space business sponsored by Amazon.com Inc. billionaire founder Jeff Bezos contested NASA’s decision to award its maiden lander contract to SpaceX in April 2021. According to the agency, SpaceX was also invited to offer a lander for future missions beyond Artemis III under its current NASA contract. Blue Origin has stated that it is prepared to compete for the project.
“We are happy that NASA is generating competition by acquiring a second human lunar landing system,” the business says. “By doing so, NASA will provide the crucial redundancy and robustness required for establishing permanent US lunar presence,” an emailed statement from a NASA spokesperson stated.
This comes at a time when NASA is looking for new design ideas as part of a plan to follow Artemis III with a series of moon landings. According to Nelson, NASA is planning a moon landing without a crew in 2024, followed by a crew landing the following year. After that initial crew’s mission, the agency anticipates around one landing every year for the following decade, he added.
