NASA named the two commercial companies that will do the Artemis mission's bidding come next decade, and these will be Blue Origin and SpaceX which have their specific tasks to fulfill. Each space company will deliver their assignments to the lunar surface that will help further humanity's operations on the natural satellite, and it would be made possible by their human landing systems.
However, this would not be regular human landing systems as both companies need to develop a specific HLS meant for carrying significantly heavy cargo, taking a journey from the Earth and down to the Moon.
The latest press release from NASA detailed its upcoming Artemis mission's new assignments for selected commercial companies to help them in their plans that will be seen in the next decade. The space agency now names SpaceX and Blue Origin to go on back-to-back missions that will help the Artemis program by delivering massive cargo to the lunar surface.
According to NASA, this contract with SpaceX and Blue Origin will focus on further missions under the program, beyond the Artemis V that is slated for 2027.
It is also important to note that both SpaceX and Blue Origin were selected by NASA before to develop human landing systems that may be used for Artemis III to Artemis V.
Artemis Mission: SpaceX for 2032, Blue Origin for 2033
Instead of a human landing system, NASA is asking both commercial space companies to develop a cargo version that could land and launch from the Moon and is capable of carrying 26,000 to 33,000 pounds.
First off, SpaceX is up for a 2032 mission where it is tasked to deliver a 'pressurized rover' that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is currently developing. On the other hand, Blue Origin will commence its mission by 2033 where it is responsible for delivering a lunar surface habitat.
NASA is no longer alone in its plans to bring back humans to the Moon after over fifty years, as the national space agency selected its partners that will help fulfill missions that would advance the Artemis program. Two years ago, NASA selected SpaceX to land astronauts on the Moon under two options: first, SpaceX will bring users to the lunar surface by Artemis IV slated for 2027; and second, SpaceX will create a Starship human landing system (HLS) to bring Artemis III astronauts to the Moon by 2025.
The early reports revealed that NASA is leaning more toward the second option on its partnership with SpaceX.
However, it is known that Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin previously fought for their place against NASA for awarding SpaceX the human landing mission, and this is one of the causes of delay for Artemis. Later on, NASA gave Blue Origin its most anticipated contract that would have them fulfill yet another lunar landing mission meant for Artemis V.
NASA has now made it clear that both companies are getting their hands on the Artemis mission that would have themhelping the agency in furthering more of what humanity can reach in the cosmos. Come 2032, SpaceX will embark on a cargo mission that will have them deliver a new rover, while Blue Origin will fulfill a 2033 mission that will deliver a lunar surface habitat to the moon.