Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, may actually beat Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the race to the moon. While SpaceX has a head start with its Starship program, Blue Origin is making significant progress with its Blue Moon lander.
Blue Origin’s senior vice president of lunar permanence, John Couluris, recently stated that the company expects to land the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander on the moon within the next 12 to 16 months. This smaller cargo lander will serve as a test for the technologies that will be used in the larger Mark 2 lander, which will eventually carry astronauts to the lunar surface.
The Blue Moon Mark 1 lander is designed to carry up to three tons of cargo and will be launched into orbit by one of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets. This smaller size means that the lander will not need to be refueled before leaving Earth orbit, unlike SpaceX’s Starship.
Blue Origin’s progress with the Blue Moon lander could give the company an edge in the race to the moon, as SpaceX continues to face challenges with its Starship program. With Blue Origin’s focus on testing and advancing its technology, it will be interesting to see if they can beat SpaceX to the lunar surface.
