{"id":17045,"date":"2026-02-27T18:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-overhauls-artemis-moon-program-and-blue-origins-lander-may-be-given-a-bigger-role\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T18:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:21:44","slug":"nasa-overhauls-artemis-moon-program-and-blue-origins-lander-may-be-given-a-bigger-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-overhauls-artemis-moon-program-and-blue-origins-lander-may-be-given-a-bigger-role\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA overhauls Artemis moon program \u2014 and Blue Origin\u2019s lander may be given a bigger role"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1260\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/230519-blueorigin-1260x709.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Blue Moon lunar lander\" class=\"wp-image-774483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/230519-blueorigin-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/230519-blueorigin-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/230519-blueorigin-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/230519-blueorigin-630x354.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/230519-blueorigin.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist\u2019s conception shows the integrated design for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. (Blue Origin Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NASA is reworking its Artemis moon program to add a test mission for commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit next year, with a crewed lunar landing to follow in 2028 at the earliest. The revised plan raises the profile of the Blue Moon lander that\u2019s being built by Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re all in!\u201d Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a post to X.<\/p>\n<p>NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took up his post last December, announced the schedule shift today. \u201cThis is going to be our pathway back to the moon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The next step in the pathway is the same as it has been: NASA is getting set to use its giant Space Launch System rocket to launch four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon in an Orion capsule. That Artemis 2 mission is currently set for no earlier than April, due to a helium leak that forced this week\u2019s rocket rollback from the launch pad for troubleshooting.<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s previous plan called for following up on Artemis 2 with a crewed lunar landing next year for Artemis 3. However, the development of the SpaceX Starship lander for that mission has proceeded more slowly than expected. <\/p>\n<p>Under the revised architecture, Artemis 3 becomes a crewed orbital test for SpaceX\u2019s Starship and\/or Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon lander. The mission could also test the next-generation spacesuits that are being developed for extravehicular activities. The Artemis program\u2019s first crewed lunar landing would follow in 2028, presumably using either Starship or Blue Moon.<\/p>\n<p>This parallels the mission timeline for the Apollo moon effort: In 1969, Apollo 9 tested the lunar lander in Earth orbit, setting the stage for Apollo 10\u2019s moon-orbiting test mission and the historic Apollo 11 moon landing just months later.<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s revised mission architecture also holds up plans for the development of an upgraded upper stage for the SLS rocket. NASA and its commercial partners would instead go to a standardized rocket configuration that would allow for at least one mission to the lunar surface per year. \u201cStandardizing vehicle configuration, increasing flight rate and progressing through objectives in a logical, phased approach is how we achieved the near-impossible in 1969, and it is how we will do it again,\u201d Isaacman said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Artemis 3 mission will no longer land on moon, NASA chief explains new schedule\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9SHvOx5fGRs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Boeing, which had been in charge of developing the next-generation upper stage, signaled that it was on board with the new approach. \u201cAs NASA lays out an accelerated launch schedule, our workforce and supply chain are prepared to meet the increased production needs,\u201d Steve Parker, the president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>The revised plan addresses concerns that the earlier schedule for a crewed lunar landing in 2027 was becoming increasingly unrealistic \u2014 and that going directly from Artemis 2 to a moon landing, without a crewed test of the lunar lander, would be too risky. <\/p>\n<p>The new plan \u201creflects the adjustments that we need to keep our schedule credible and our teams focused on what matters most, which is safe and achievable missions,\u201d NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said.<\/p>\n<p>The revision also comes amid concerns that China might land astronauts on the moon before NASA does. In response to a question, Isaacman acknowledged the competition with China but downplayed its role in discussions about the Artemis schedule.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think competition is good,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cWe\u2019re here talking to you about what is a common-sense approach to achieve the objective, whether we had a great rival in the running or not. If we\u2019re committed to going back to the moon, we have the resources to do it again. We have a presidential mandate to get the job done. What is an achievable strategy, regardless of the competition? And I can tell you, launching every three-plus years is not the right approach.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>NASA said it would refine its plan for next year\u2019s Artemis 3 test mission after completing detailed reviews with its industry partners. \u201cWe had a chance to have these discussions across all of our industry partners. \u2026 Everybody agrees this is the only way forward,\u201d Isaacman said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll say we had similar conversations with all our stakeholders in Congress, and they\u2019re fully behind NASA in this approach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin is already accelerating its Blue Moon development program. Last month, the Kent, Wash.-based company said it was putting its suborbital New Shepard program on hold for at least two years to shift resources to lunar projects. An uncrewed, cargo-carrying version of the Blue Moon lander is due for launch to the moon sometime this year.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been three years since Blue Origin won a $3.4 billion NASA contract to provide a crewed version of the lander for missions starting with Artemis 5, which at the time was scheduled for 2029. When hints about a revised Artemis mission timeline began popping up last year, a Blue Origin executive said the Blue Moon development timeline could be revised as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf NASA wants to accelerate us to go faster, then we would ramp that up faster,\u201d John Couluris, vice president of Blue Origin\u2019s lunar permanence division, said last September. \u201cIt\u2019s right now gauged on Artemis 5. If they want us to go earlier, we would engage a lot faster.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows the integrated design for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) NASA is reworking its Artemis moon program to add a test mission for commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit next year, with a crewed lunar landing to follow in 2028 at the earliest. The revised plan raises [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[304,1508,509,190],"class_list":["post-17045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-artemis","tag-blue-moon","tag-blue-origin","tag-nasa"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17045"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}