Blue Origin is getting closer and closer to having its lunar lander ready for an uncrewed mission launching from Florida to the surface of the moon.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space technology company has been putting its Blue Moon spacecraft through its paces at testing facilities in both Texas and Cape Canaveral. Ahead? a robotic landing on the moon’s south pole potentially by the end of 2026.
The venture would come potentially in the same year as the historic Artemis II mission sending four astronauts around the moon.
Before astronauts can return to the moon’s surface, Blue Origin and billionaire Elon Musk’s rival SpaceX are both competing to have separate landers ready in time for NASA’s Artemis III mission in 2027. That mission itself would be a critical test of each lander’s docking capabilities in Earth orbit before the space agency puts boots back on the lunar surface the following year.
Here’s everything to know about Blue Origin’s lunar lander and how close it is to launching on a New Glenn rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the way to the moon.
Blue Origin readies lunar lander in Florida for 2026 launch to moon
A mockup of Blue Origin’s Mark 1 (MK1) lunar lander on display inside the lobby of the company’s Florida facility on Merritt Island near the Kennedy Space Center.
The Blue Moon spacecraft that Blue Origin is developing for lunar landings is undergoing its latest phase of testing as the company readies the vehicle at its Merritt Island facility for an uncrewed moon mission potentially in 2026.
Most recently, the lander – nicknamed Endurance – went through a demonstration Blue Origin referred to as modal testing.
“We used sensors to measure how our lunar lander will respond to launch conditions,” Blue Origin explained in an April 27 post on Instagram.
Blue Origin also said in an April social media post that it was planning to test both the launch vehicle separation system and communications system for the lander before performing a wet dress rehearsal that involves fueling it with cryogenic propellant. The spacecraft recently returned to Blue Origin’s facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for more prep work after undergoing testing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Does Jeff Bezos own Blue Origin?
Billionaire Jeff Bezos, best known for founding Amazon, founded the private space technology company Blue Origin in 2000.
Headquartered in Washington state, Blue Origin made a name for itself with its suborbital human spaceflights using its New Shepard spacecraft from West Texas. Those missions, several of which featured celebrities like musician Katy Perry and actor William Shatner, have been paused for at least two years while Blue Origin focuses on its lunar program.
New Glenn rocket to launch lunar lander from Cape Canaveral
Blue Origin has also developed a heavy-lift launch vehicle known as the New Glenn. The 320-foot rocket, which has launched three times from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, would be the vehicle to carry Blue Origin’s lunar lander to orbit.
The New Glenn rocket most recently got off the ground April 19 on a mission to deploy broadband network satellites for cellular broadband service provider AST SpaceMobile to space. While the rocket delivered the satellites to the wrong orbit, Blue Origin did manage to once again recover the first stage booster, which itself had been reused after a previous spaceflight in a major first.
Why is Blue Origin targeting uncrewed moon landing?
Blue Origin is preparing to send the uncrewed Mark 1 variant of its Blue Moon lander on a pathfinding mission to the moon’s south pole region, where it would permanently remain.
The mission, one of potentially four robotic lunar landings targeted for 2026, comes as NASA plans to dramatically increase the number of uncrewed landers carrying cargo and science instruments to the moon. In 2027, the space agency is eyeing up to 30 more uncrewed landings.
The missions, contracted under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, would all help pave the way for the first astronauts to step foot on the moon for the first time since 1972 under the Artemis campaign.
Blue Origin, SpaceX landers could take Artemis astronauts to moon
Blue Origin and SpaceX are both under pressure to develop lunar landers ahead of a targeted human surface mission in 2028, now known as Artemis IV. NASA’s revamped lunar program also includes a new mission that involves Artemis III astronauts aboard an Orion capsule meeting and docking in 2027 in Earth orbit with one or both of those landers.
SpaceX, the commercial spaceflight company founded by Elon Musk, was originally awarded the contract to develop a configuration of its Starship vehicle, known as the Human Landing System, for the first Artemis mission to send astronauts to the surface. Blue Origin, though is also working on the Mark 2 version of its Blue Moon lander that is designed for astronauts.
Whichever lander ends up being selected for Artemis IV would rendezvous with NASA astronauts aboard an Orion vehicle in lunar orbit and then ferry them to the surface. After the astronauts conduct a moon walk and a series of scientific experiments, the lander would then transport them back up to Orion, which would make the journey back to Earth, according to NASA.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Bezos’ Blue Origin readies lunar lander for New Glenn launch in Florida