NASA Chooses Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Lander as the Second Human Landing System – Via Satellite –

Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, has won the second NASA human landing system award, which will allow the company to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon. The $3.4 billion fixed-price contract will see Blue Origin develop its Blue Moon lander for the Artemis V mission, set for 2029. This means that both SpaceX and Blue Origin are now developing human landing systems for Artemis missions. Initially, NASA awarded SpaceX the sole contract for the human landing system on the initial Artemis III mission in 2021, and Blue Origin fought this decision with the Government Accountability Office and then with a lawsuit in the Federal Claims Court. NASA later moved to issue this second lander contract to a company other than SpaceX, saying that a second contract will increase competition and support regular missions. Under this contract, Blue Origin will perform an uncrewed demonstration mission to the Moon before a crewed demo on the Artemis V mission. Blue Origin’s Lunar lander will be powered by LOX-LH2, and the company said it will be working to make the propellant storable for the mission.