NASA has selected SpaceX and Blue Origin to deliver a lunar rover and habitat to the Moon within the next decade. The announcement was made last week, assigning two lunar cargo demonstration missions to each partner under contracts for the Artemis moon mission program.
SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System (HLS) will conduct the first two missions, starting with Artemis III, scheduled for late 2026. Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander, chosen by NASA two years later, will support Artemis V.
In 2023, NASA requested both companies to design cargo versions of their crewed systems, expected to deliver between 26,000 and 33,000 pounds of payload. Stephen Creech, assistant deputy associate administrator for NASA's Moon to Mars Program Office, emphasized the importance of having two lunar lander providers to ensure mission flexibility and a regular schedule of moon landings.
One of the proposed missions involves sending a lunar rover developed by Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aboard a Starship cargo lander as early as fiscal year 2032. The rover is expected to explore the lunar surface for approximately a decade.
The second mission could see Blue Origin deliver a lunar habitat as soon as the following year, although details on the construction of the habitat remain unclear. NASA has not provided additional information on this project.
Lisa Watson-Morgan, HLS program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, stated that these cargo lander demonstration missions aim to optimize technical expertise and resources as NASA prepares for future deep space exploration. Proposals for these missions are expected to be issued to SpaceX and Blue Origin early next year.