Blue Moon (spacecraft)

Several spacecraft designs are included in the Blue Moon program. These include the Mark 1 lander, the Mark 2, and the Cislunar Transporter. Additionally, the BE-7 liquid rocket engine is under development and testing, and is intended to be used on each of these spacecraft. Mark 1 Blue Moon Mark 1, powered by a single BE-7 engine, is an autonomous lunar lander planned to be able to deliver and support cargo on the surface of the Moon. The Mark 1 spacecraft is in height and in diameter, with a fueled mass of . With a payload capacity reaching , uses suggested for Mark 1 include delivery of lunar rovers, as well as a "base station" that would serve as a power and communications outpost for lunar exploration. Mark 2 Blue Moon Mark 2 is to carry two astronauts to the Moon, for up to 30 days at a time, starting with the Artemis V mission, set for 2030. A variant of the lander designed to carry cargo is also planned, capable of carrying a payload of up to to the surface of the Moon in a reusable configuration or in a one-way mission. Blue Origin is to lead the development of the lander, which is designed to fit in the payload fairing of the New Glenn launch vehicle in order to launch aboard the rocket. Astrobotic is to provide a cargo accommodation system for Blue Moon, to be used for large payloads such as surface habitats or lunar rovers. Boeing is to supply a docking system; Draper is to provide guidance, navigation, and control technology, and Honeybee Robotics will be responsible for supplying cargo delivery systems. Mark 1 is to use a single engine, whereas the other spacecraft are to each use three. wherein each propellant flows through the engine, gaining heat energy, which is then used to spin turbines, providing energy to pump propellant into the combustion chamber. The BE-7 engine is designed to produce a maximum of of thrust and to throttle down to produce as little as of thrust. In addition to this "deep throttle" capability, it is also meant to be highly efficient, with high specific impulse, and to be capable of restarting multiple times. with components such as the injector being additively manufactured in a single piece. The regeneratively-cooled nozzle is composed of a nickel super-alloy jacket, vacuum-brazed onto a copper liner, and hydraulically formed into the nozzle's bell shape. == History ==

Robotic spacecraft Design work on a Blue Origin robotic lunar lander began in 2016. featuring a lunar-surface-delivered payload capacity of . In April 2017, Blue Origin president Rob Meyerson stated that the lander could be launched by multiple launch vehicles, including Blue Origin's New Glenn, Atlas V, NASA's Space Launch System, or the Vulcan launch vehicle. In May 2019, Blue Origin unveiled a mockup of the Blue Moon lander at the Washington D.C. Convention Center and released specification details for the autonomous lander planned to land up to on the Moon, to be powered by the newly unveiled BE-7. Blue Moon-derived concepts aimed at carrying passengers to the Moon were also exhibited. Integrated Lander Vehicle In October 2019, the National Team of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper Laboratory announced that it would collaborate to create a proposal for the "Human Landing System" (HLS) for NASA's Artemis program. Blue Origin was to serve as the primary contractor, with a variant of its Blue Moon Lunar Lander serving as the descent stage. Lockheed Martin would build the ascent stage, in part based on its Orion crew capsule. Northrop Grumman would build a transfer stage based on its Cygnus spacecraft. The lander was projected to launch on the Blue Origin New Glenn launch vehicle. Contracted design work started in 2020 and continued into 2021, when NASA was to evaluate which contractors would be offered contracts for initial demonstration missions and select firms for development and maturation of lunar lander systems. The ILV was aimed at landing NASA astronauts on the Moon as early as 2024, Although NASA had previously stated it wished to procure multiple Human Landing Systems, it only selected one lander design, citing budgetary limitations. Sustaining Lunar Development crewed lander NASA bidding and contract In May 2023, NASA selected Blue Moon as the second lander procured under the Artemis HLS program, under Appendix P of the NextSTEP-2 contracting structure, also known as Sustaining Lunar Development. Blue Moon was proposed by a renewed National Team, with slightly different composition than that which had developed the Integrated Lander Vehicle. Blue Moon had successfully competed with the Dynetics ALPACA for the contract; NASA stated that the lower cost and technical strengths of Blue Moon led to its selection. Initial crewed Moon landing In October 2025, in response to mounting concerns over the timeline for development of Starship HLS, acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy announced the contract for a lander for the first Artemis Moon landing — at that time planned to be the Artemis III mission — was being opened up. Duffy expected Blue Origin to submit a proposal. As of April 2026, Blue Origin has not publicly announced details, but it had earlier been reported that while Blue Moon Mark 2 could likely not be delivered before the 2030s, Blue Origin had begun preliminary work on a crewed lander based on Blue Moon Mark 1, tentatively called Mark 1.5, which could be produced in time for the initial Moon landing. Under the revised Artemis timeline as of April 2026, one or both of Starship HLS and a Blue Moon lander will be tested in Earth orbit during the Artemis III mission. == List of vehicles ==

Mark 1 Pathfinder Blue Moon Pathfinder is a planned flight test of a prototype Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, set to launch no earlier than early 2026. The mission will demonstrate critical technologies, including the BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid power and propulsion systems, avionics, continuous downlink communications, and precision landing with an accuracy within . The Pathfinder mission is partially funded by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, under which Blue Origin was awarded in July 2024 to transport the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies payload. == See also ==