SpaceX, Blue Origin Each Get A Mission

NASA and its industry partners are planning for sustained exploration of the lunar surface with the Artemis campaign to advance science and discovery.

To further that goal, NASA will assign demo missions to its current human landing system providers SpaceX and Blue Origin. The two will bring their large cargo landing systems to maturity after successful design certification reviews.

The assignment of these missions extends NASA’s request in 2023 for each to develop cargo versions of their crewed human landing systems which are now in development for Artemis III, IV, and V.

Stephen D. Creech, assistant deputy associate administrator for technical, Moon to Mars Program Office said, “NASA is planning for both crewed missions and future services missions to the Moon beyond Artemis V.

The Artemis campaign is a collaborative effort with international and industry partners. Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches for crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued discovery and scientific opportunity.”

Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager, Human Landing System, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said, “Based on current design and development progress for both crew and cargo landers and the Artemis mission schedules for the crew lander versions, NASA assigned a pressurized rover mission for SpaceX and a lunar habitat delivery for Blue Origin. These large cargo lander demonstration missions aim to optimize our NASA and industry technical expertise, resources, and funding as we prepare for the future of deep space exploration.”

FMI:  www.nasa.gov/