Jane Edwards
Blue Origin has launched a mockup of its Blue Moon 1 lunar lander at its Huntsville, Alabama-based facility for use in testing technologies meant for a manned version of the vehicle for NASA’s Artemis 5 mission, SpaceNews reported Saturday.
The initial flight of Blue Moon Mark 1 will be designated as MK1-SN001, also called the Pathfinder Mission, meant to assess the propulsion system, BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid power system, avionics and other critical technologies.
Ben Cichy, senior director of engineering of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, said at a conference that two Mark 1 lunar landers are set to fly on initial flights of the company’s New Glenn rocket.
In May, Blue Origin received a potential $3.4 billion contract from NASA to develop Blue Moon as the second human landing system for the space agency’s Artemis program.
The lunar lander is designed to transport three tons of cargo to the moon’s surface.
