This image provided by Blue Origin shows the Blue Moon lander. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday, May 19, 2023, to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029. (Blue Origin via AP)
By Marcia Dunn
Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it lost out to SpaceX.
Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday to lead a team to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
NASA will get astronauts to lunar orbit using its own rockets and capsules, but wants private companies to take over from there.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the agency wants different landing options as it seeks a return to the moon more than a half-century after the end of the Apollo moonshots.
Blue Origin is kicking in billions of dollars, on top of the NASA contract, to help establish a permanent presence on the moon.
“We have a lot to do before we successfully land and return astronauts," said John Couluris, a Blue Origin vice president.
Two years ago, Blue Origin sued after NASA awarded SpaceX the contract for the first lunar landing. A federal judge upheld the space agency’s decision.
NASA’s Artemis program, which follows the 1960s and 1970s Apollo moonshots. kicked off with a successful test flight late last year. Launched atop NASA's new moon rocket, an empty Orion capsule went into lunar orbit before returning home.
The next Artemis flight will come late next year when one Canadian and three U.S. astronauts fly to the moon and back, but not land. Two Americans would descend to the lunar surface aboard a SpaceX Starship on the mission after that, no earlier than late 2025.
Like SpaceX, Blue Origin plans to practice landing on the moon without a crew, before putting astronauts on board.
While the shiny, stainless steel Starship has a science fiction look, Blue Moon resembles more of a traditional capsule perched atop a tall compartment with legs. The latter will stand 52 feet (16 meters) on the moon.
Both companies' landers are meant to be reusable.
Blue Origin will use its still-in-development New Glenn rocket to launch its lunar missions from Cape Canaveral. Starship, the world's largest rocket, made its debut last month from South Texas; the test flight ended in an explosive fireball a few minutes into flight.
Blue Origin's team includes five partners: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic Technology and Honeybee Robotics.
Only one other bid was submitted for the contract competition, according to NASA.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Sidechef CEO breaks down how it's building a platform to make recipe shopping easy; Luum CEO explains the process of having a robot put on eyelash extensions; A look at Curiosity Stream's new original series, 'Evolve.'
Moderna launched a clinical trial of a COVID-19 booster shot specifically targeting the omicron variant. The first participant has already received a dose, and Moderna expects to enroll about 600 adults total, split between two groups. In the first group, participants will have previously received two doses of the Moderna vaccine, and in the second, participants will have received its booster. Dr. Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Moderna, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss the trial, yearly boosters, and what lies ahead for the company.
With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics right around the corner, experts are warning that climate change is threatening not only the event but also the future of snow sports. Despite being the world's top polluter, China is hoping to use the event to demonstrate the country's commitment to fighting climate change, and pledging to host a "low carbon" games. Xubin Zeng, professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona, joins Cheddar News.
New research is suggesting that giving extra cash to low-income mothers can actually influence the brain development of their infants. These findings provide the first rigorous evidence of how payments and monetary support can affect children in the early years of life. Authors of the study, Nathan Fox, professor in the department of human development at the University of Maryland, and Sonya Troller-Renfree, postdoctoral research associate at Teachers College at Columbia University, join Cheddar News to discuss.
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and continuously feel the impacts. Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of Green Latinos joined All Hands to discuss.
Neil Young has come up with an ultimatum for Spotify: his music or Joe Rogan’s podcast. This comes over concerns that the podcast is spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation to its listeners. "The Joe Rogan Experience," which is exclusive to Spotify, is currently the number one streamed podcast on the platform.
Commercial and residential buildings account for 13% of carbon emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA, and one company says it has a solution. Runwise says it has updated the boiler and heating systems of thousands of buildings, and that its technology not only lowers carbon output but also saves landlords money. Lee Hoffman, Co-Founder and COO of Runwise, joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Jo Ruxton, Founder of Ocean Generation, joins Cheddar Climate, where she explains the threat that plastic pollution poses to marine life, but elaborates on why we shouldn't be looking to ban plastic entirely. Ruxton also discusses her biggest takeaways while producing the film ‘A Plastic Ocean.'
President Joe Biden's Build Back Better deal seems all but finished after months of Democratic infighting and the Senate's deadlock over certain provisions. But Biden mentioned during a press conference marking his first year in office that 'chunks' of the bill could be passed. Is that enough motivation to force Democrats to rally around certain parts of the bill - especially those that focus on climate and green energy? Andrew Freedman, Energy and Climate Reporter at Axios, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss whether Senate Democrats will be able to rally around climate provisions, if the idea of passing Build Back Better in 'chunks' is doable, and more.
