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NASA Advances Lunar Exploration with Artemis Campaign
NASA is intensifying its efforts toward deepening human exploration of the Moon through the Artemis program, which aims to enhance scientific discovery for the broader global community. The agency is poised to issue additional contracts to Blue Origin and SpaceX to advance the development of lunar landers capable of transporting significant equipment and infrastructure to the Moon’s surface.
Following thorough design certification reviews, NASA plans to assign demonstration missions to these current human landing system providers. This initiative aims to refine the designs of large cargo landers. The assignments are built upon NASA’s 2023 request, which encouraged both companies to design cargo variants of their crewed human landing systems, now actively being developed for Artemis III, Artemis IV, and Artemis V missions.
“NASA is preparing for both crewed and future service missions to the Moon that extend beyond Artemis V,” stated Stephen D. Creech, the assistant deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program Office. “The Artemis initiative represents a collaborative endeavor involving international partners and the industry. Having two providers for lunar landers, each with distinct methodologies for crewed and cargo landings, enhances mission adaptability and ensures regular access to the Moon for ongoing scientific exploration.”
NASA’s plans include at least two cargo delivery missions. The agency anticipates that SpaceX’s Starship cargo lander will be tasked with delivering a pressurized rover, developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), to the lunar surface in support of Artemis VII and later missions, with a timeline set for no sooner than fiscal year 2032. Concurrently, Blue Origin is expected to deliver a lunar habitation module, aimed for delivery no earlier than fiscal year 2033.
“Considering the current progress in design and development for both crewed and cargo landers, alongside Artemis mission schedules, NASA has designated a mission for SpaceX involving a pressurized rover and a lunar habitat delivery for Blue Origin,” explained Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager for the Human Landing System at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “These demonstration missions for large cargo landers are essential in leveraging NASA’s and the industry’s technical capabilities, resources, and funding as we set our sights on the future of deep space exploration.”
SpaceX will further its cargo lander development as it prepares the Starship cargo mission, operating under Option B of the NextSTEP Appendix H contract. Blue Origin will pursue its own cargo lander efforts and demonstration mission through the NextSTEP Appendix P framework. The initial request for proposals from NASA is expected to be released to both companies by early 2025.
Through the Artemis campaign, NASA aims to explore the Moon more comprehensively than ever before, establishing strategies for living and working in extraterrestrial environments, while laying groundwork for future missions to Mars. Essential components of this endeavor include NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), exploration ground systems, Orion spacecraft, and a suite of commercial human landing systems, complemented by next-generation spacesuits, the Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers, all forming the backbone of NASA’s deep space exploration agenda.
For more information on NASA’s Human Landing System Program, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/hls
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Source
www.nasa.gov