"The first Blue Moon Mark 1 is funded from Blue Origin's coffers. It is now fully assembled and will soon ship to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for vacuum chamber testing. Then, it will travel to Florida's Space Coast for final launch preparations. "We are building a series, not a singular lander, but multiple types and sizes and scales of landers to go to the Moon," Remias said."
"The second Mark 1 lander will carry NASA's VIPER rover to prospect for water ice at the Moon's south pole in late 2027. Around the same time, Blue will use a Mark 1 lander to deploy two small satellites to orbit the Moon, flying as low as a few miles above the surface to scout for resources like water, precious metals, rare Earth elements, and helium-3 that could be extracted and exploited by future explorers."
Blue Origin has fully assembled and funded the first Blue Moon Mark 1 lander and will ship it to NASA's Johnson Space Center for vacuum chamber testing before moving to Florida for launch preparations. Blue Origin plans a series of landers in multiple sizes and roles. A second Mark 1 will carry NASA's VIPER rover to the lunar south pole in late 2027 and deploy small satellites to scout for water and other resources. A larger, human-rated Blue Moon Mark 2 remains in earlier development for Artemis crewed landings. Orbital cryogenic refueling is required for crewed landers, creating schedule and capability challenges amid international competition.
Read at Ars Technica
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