NASA is partnering with Blue Origin to send astronauts to the Moon.

According to the signed contract, billionaire Jeff Bezos's company is tasked with taking NASA astronauts to the Moon and then bringing them back to Earth.

NASA is partnering with Blue Origin to send astronauts to the Moon. (Source: nasa.gov)

On May 19, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a $3.4 billion contract with space exploration company Blue Origin, under which Blue Origin will design, test, and develop a lander for the Artemis 5 lunar exploration mission.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced: “Today, we are pleased to announce that Blue Origin – as NASA’s second supplier – will build a system to help land astronauts on the surface of the Moon as part of the Artemis program.”

We are in the golden age of manned spaceflight, a reality made possible by NASA's commercial and international partnerships. Together, we are investing in the infrastructure to pave the way for sending the first astronauts to Mars.”

Under the contract, billionaire Jeff Bezos's company is tasked with taking NASA astronauts to the Moon and then bringing them back to Earth. Blue Origin will first conduct an unmanned flight to the Moon to demonstrate the capabilities of its lander, followed by a flight carrying astronauts to the planet, scheduled for 2029.

A handful of private companies, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Bezos' Blue Origin, are striving to play a larger role in space exploration and competing for lucrative contracts from the U.S. government .

In April 2021, NASA signed a $2.89 billion contract with SpaceX to develop a lunar landing system, intended to send two astronauts to the planet as part of the Artemis 3 mission. Blue Origin also participated in the bidding process but was eliminated.

In 2022, NASA once again selected SpaceX for the Artemis 4 mission, but left the opportunity open for other companies to "increase competition." This time, Blue Origin was given the chance.

Sharing on Twitter about this new partnership milestone, billionaire Bezos said he was "honored to be partnering with NASA to send astronauts to the Moon."

According to the plan, Blue Origin will collaborate with five other partners – including two defense contractors, Lockheed Martin and Boeing; the spacecraft software company Draper; and two robotics companies, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics – to build the 16-meter-tall Blue Moon lander.

While SpaceX's Starship has a science fiction look, Blue Origin's Blue Moon has a more classic appearance. Both companies' landers are reusable.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nasa-hop-tac-voi-blue-origin-dua-phi-hanh-gia-len-mat-trang-227865.html