Kent-based Blue Origin received an $190 million contract from NASA to land a science rover on the moon’s South Pole region.
As part of the NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency awarded the contract Sept. 19 for a commercial lunar payload services task order with an option to deliver a rover to the moon’s South Pole region. NASA’s VIPER (volatiles investigating polar exploration rover) will search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the lunar surface and collect science data to support future exploration at the moon and Mars, according to NASA.
“Our second Blue Moon MK1 lander is already in production and well-suited to support the VIPER rover,” according to a Blue Origin post on X. “Building on the learnings from our first MK1 lander, this mission is important for future lunar permanence and will teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon.”
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy explained the program.
“NASA is leading the world in exploring more of the moon than ever before, and this delivery is just one of many ways we’re leveraging U.S. industry to support a long-term American presence on the lunar surface,” Duffy said. “Our rover will explore the extreme environment of the lunar South Pole, traveling to small, permanently shadowed regions to help inform future landing sites for our astronauts and better understand the Moon’s environment – important insights for sustaining humans over longer missions, as America leads our future in space.”
This is the second commercial lunar payload services delivery awarded to Blue Origin. Their first delivery – using their Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) robotic lander – is targeted for launch later this year to deliver NASA’s Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies and Laser Retroreflective Array payloads to the moon’s South Pole region.
With this new award, Blue Origin will deliver VIPER to the lunar surface in late 2027, using a second Blue Moon MK1 lander, which is in production, according to NASA. NASA previously canceled the VIPER project and has since explored alternative approaches to achieve the agency’s goals of mapping potential off-planet resources, like water.
“NASA is committed to studying and exploring the Moon, including learning more about water on the lunar surface, to help determine how we can harness local resources for future human exploration,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “We’ve been looking for creative, cost-effective approaches to accomplish these exploration goals. This private sector-developed landing capability enables this delivery and focuses our investments accordingly – supporting American leadership in space and ensuring our long-term exploration is robust and affordable.”
The rover has a targeted science window for its 100-day mission that requires a landing by late 2027.
Blue Origin is responsible for the complete landing mission architecture and will conduct design, analysis, and testing of a large lunar lander capable of safely delivering the lunar volatiles science rover to the moon, according to NASA. Blue Origin also will handle end-to-end payload integration, planning and support, and post-landing payload deployment activities. NASA will conduct rover operations and science planning.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, applauded the contract award to Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and opened in Kent in 2000.
“This announcement is fantastic news for Kent-based Blue Origin and Washington state’s entire aerospace economy, which supports nearly 200,000 jobs and keeps our state on the cutting-edge of scientific discovery,” Murray said in a Sept. 23 statement. “This contract means that Blue Origin will help lay the groundwork for humans returning to the moon—that’s a big deal! Washington state has long been a world leader in aerospace manufacturing and engineering—which is critical to our state’s economy—and our influence is only growing.” human discovery.”
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