- Blue Origin, SpaceX’s competitor and owned by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, plans an unmanned moon landing by 2025, aiming to transport three tons of payload.
- The mission represents a significant milestone for Blue Origin, lagging behind SpaceX, and success could pave the way for manned missions.
- Despite challenges, Blue Origin envisions reusable landers and multiple cargo missions to facilitate lunar exploration.
On March 5th, Blue Origin, a competitor of SpaceX, plans to achieve its first unmanned moon landing in 2025. This was revealed by John Couluris, Senior Vice President of Lunar Permanence at the company, on the “60 Minutes” program this week. Couluris stated that the exact date is yet to be determined, but the team responsible for developing the “Mark One” cargo lander Pathfinder version is aiming for a moon landing in 2025. If successful, manned moon missions may quickly follow.
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This mission is a significant milestone for Blue Origin
This “Pathfinder” moon mission is a significant milestone for Blue Origin, as the company has been trailing behind its main competitor, SpaceX. Achieving a moon landing next year would demonstrate the capability of Blue Origin’s design to transport three tons of payload to any location on the moon. However, moon landing remains a formidable challenge, with many attempts in US history ending in failure.
Blue Origin gained experience from Mark One
Blue Origin envisions constructing multiple cargo landers to send into lunar orbit for transporting goods to the moon’s surface when needed. Additionally, the company plans to manufacture a manned version of the lander for transporting NASA astronauts to and from the lunar surface. The current “Mark One” lander is designed for single launches and transport, but the experience gained from this mission will help Blue Origin design reusable landers capable of refuelling in orbit.
Although NASA provides some support for Blue Origin’s other lunar missions, the Pathfinder mission will be independently funded by Bezos’ company.
