After awarding Elon Musk’s SpaceX a $3 billion contract to put humans on the Moon by 2025, NASA has also awarded a similar contract to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, worth $3.4 billion.
In a recent statement, Jeff Bezos announced that his private space exploration company, Blue Origin had secured a significant contract worth $3.4 billion with NASA, bringing him closer to his goal of sending humans to the Moon.
NASA expands its Artemis programme
NASA revealed that Bezos’ private rocket company, Blue Origin, has been awarded the contract as part of the Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon. Unfortunately for Bezos, Musk’s SpaceX was granted a similar Artemis contract back in 2021, positioning Musk and his company way ahead in the race. For their part, Musk’s SpaceX recently conducted a successful launch of their Starship rocket that is supposed to be used for the Artemis mission.
Also read: Jeff Bezos offers NASA $2 billion discount to secure Artemis moon lander contract
With Musk and SpaceX leading the way, NASA’s recent contract with Blue Origin intensifies the competition between the two billionaires. Over the years, Bezos and Musk have engaged in some heated debates, exchanging jabs regarding their respective efforts to spearhead humanity’s space exploration endeavours.
In an Instagram post, Jeff Bezos expressed his excitement by declaring, “We are going to the Moon!” Accompanying the statement was a depiction of Blue Origin’s proposed lunar lander, hinting at Bezos’ intention to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon. This indicates that his mission carries a more ambitious scope compared to Musk’s efforts.
Jeff Bezos’ had sued SpaceX before
In 2021, Elon Musk’s SpaceX secured a $3 billion contract from NASA to facilitate human return to the Moon, marking the first such mission since 1972. Bezos and Blue Origin had also vied for the contract but were unsuccessful. They subsequently filed a complaint and launched a lawsuit, both of which were ultimately dismissed by the Government Accountability Office and federal court, respectively.
NASA emphasized that the upcoming missions will explore a greater expanse of the lunar surface than ever before. The objective of sending humans back to the Moon is to conduct research that will contribute to the eventual launch of similar missions to Mars.
While announcing Blue Origin’s contract, NASA’s chief administrator, Bill Nelson, expressed a positive outlook on the competition and stated that the agency welcomes more contenders in this space race.
During a conference at NASA HQ in Washington, Jeff Bezos highlighted the significance of having backups and reliability in space missions. He emphasized that having multiple providers ensures redundancy and increased mission success.
Blue Origin’s lunar lander head, John Couluris, revealed that the company had privately contributed an amount exceeding the $3.4 billion contract payout. This demonstrates the long-standing commitment of Bezos and his team to establish a permanent outpost on the Moon.
What will Blue Origin and SpaceX do for NASA’s Artemis mission?
While Blue Origin has been relatively discreet about the specifics of its Moon lander proposal, it has mentioned its corporate partners, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper (a spacecraft software firm), and Astrobotic (a robotics firm), as part of Artemis V mission.
Elon Musk’s NASA Artemis missions, utilizing SpaceX’s Starship system, are planned for later in the decade, with Blue Origin’s missions currently scheduled for 2029, shortly after.
Blue Origin’s Artemis V mission aims to deploy astronauts to the lunar surface, specifically focusing on exploring the icy southern pole of the Moon. It will be the first Artemis mission to utilize NASA’s proposed orbital Lunar Gateway in conjunction with a landing on the Moon’s surface.
On the other hand, NASA selected SpaceX to develop the first commercial human lander to safely carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface, as part of the Artemis III mission. The human landing system will be used for both Artemis III and Artemis IV.
As outlined in NASA’s budget proposal from March, the mission involves delivering the European Space Agency’s ESPRIT refuelling and communications module to NASA’s Gateway, along with a Canadian-made robotic arm system. During the surface phase of the mission, the Artemis astronauts will also transport an unpressurized lunar rover, as indicated by NASA’s “working manifest” chart.
Blue Origin validated?
This contract is a significant achievement for Bezos and Blue Origin, as it validates their extensive investments since the company’s establishment in 2000. Their aim has been to compete for prominent commercial and government space contracts, particularly with SpaceX, a dominant player in satellite launches and human spaceflight.
Blue Origin, along with lawmakers, exerted pressure on NASA to award a second lunar lander contract to promote commercial competition and ensure the agency has alternative means to reach the Moon. In response, NASA announced a program for a second lander contract in early 2022.
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