NASA Picks Bezos’ Blue Origin To Build Lunar Landers For Moonwalkers
Credit: AP
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Bezos’ rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after losing out to SpaceX.
Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday to develop a lunar lander.
It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
NASA wants different landing options as it seeks to return astronauts to the moon decades after the Apollo program.
The Artemis program kicked off with a successful test flight late last year, with an empty Orion capsule going into lunar orbit before returning home.
