![A rendering of the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander on the surface of the Moon. Credit: Blue Origin](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/mk1-full_crop.png)
A rendering of the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander on the surface of the Moon. Credit: Blue Origin
Blue Origin unveiled its Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander, a cargo delivery system the corporate plans to make use of to check and refine features for its much larger human lander.
A mockup of the three-story-tall MK1 lander was unveiled following a visit to Blue Origin’s engine production facility in Huntsville, Alabama, by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. It’s a precursor to the Human Landing System the corporate is constructing for NASA’s Artemis Moon program as early as 2029 in the course of the Artemis 5 mission — a contract value $3.4 billion.
![Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, left, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stand in front of the Blue Moon Mark 1 mockup. Credit: Blue Origin](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/F9c4cx9XUAEhPON.jpg)
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, left, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stand in front of the Blue Moon Mark 1 mockup. Credit: Blue Origin
“Impressive visit to the @blueorigin Huntsville Engine Production Facility!” Nelson said via an Oct. 27 post on social media. “@NASA is proud to partner with Blue Origin, especially on the Blue Moon human landing system, which is able to help ensure a gradual cadence of astronauts on the Moon to live and work before we enterprise to Mars.”
Noteworthy features of the MK1 include its capability to move up to 3 metric tons of cargo to any area of the lunar surface, the corporate said, making it a flexible asset for forthcoming missions. Its propulsion system uses a BE-7 engine that’s designed to eat liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants, providing the unique advantage of potential refilling using lunar resources, contributing to the sustainability of prolonged lunar missions.
The inaugural pathfinder mission, MK1-SN001, is planned to function a demonstrator, evaluating critical systems inside the lunar lander. This includes the BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid power and propulsion systems, avionics, continuous downlink communications and precision landing capabilities inside a 100-meter site accuracy. These tests are crucial to the success of the Blue Origin’s Human Landing System for Artemis, which is aiming to land people on the south polar region of the Moon’s surface later this decade.
Blue Origin hasn’t announced a date to fly the SN001 mission. The MK1 lander is anticipated to be sent into space using the corporate’s Recent Glenn rocket and its seven-meter fairing, which is currently undergoing development. Its inaugural launch not expected until at the very least sometime in 2024.
Following the primary landing, the corporate said it plans to supply SN002 and beyond for payloads from paying customers.
This development coincides with SpaceX’s strides in lunar exploration through its own HLS contract. In keeping with NASA, a Moon lander variant of SpaceX’s Starship rocket is for use for the Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 missions, with at the very least one uncrewed demonstration landing before flying people to the surface. Under the present schedule, Artemis 3 will not be expected to occur until at the very least 2025 or 2026 on the earliest.
Meanwhile, Artemis 2 is a crewed free-return flight across the Moon and only requires the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. That 10-day mission with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Kock and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is planned for late 2024 or early 2025.
![A rendering of the Blue Moon Human Landing System on the Moon. Credit: Blue Origin](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fwf8BsPWYAAVfDO.jpg)
A rendering of the Blue Moon Human Landing System on the Moon. Credit: Blue Origin