Which billionaire’s space company will reach the Moon first: Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin?
At first glance, SpaceX appears to have an enormous advantage. Starship’s third test flight will begin soon. The Starship variant is scheduled to take NASA astronauts to the lunar surface in September 2026.
Blue Origin, on the other hand, has not yet launched anything into orbit, and the contract with NASA for a lunar lander for astronauts covers a mission that’s scheduled to launch in 2030.
But Blue Origin could still get there first. SpaceX faces significant challenges with its 16-story-tall Starship, while Blue Origin plans to send a smaller cargo lander to the Moon by the end of next 12 months.
“We expect this lander to land on the Moon within 12 to 16 months from today,” said John Couluris, senior vice chairman of lunar sustainability at Blue Origin, duringn interview on CBS News “60 Minutes” this month.
The first launch of the Mark 1 version of the Blue Moon lander is what Blue Origin calls a “detector” designed to test technologies resembling the BE-7 engine, onboard computers, avionics and power systems – the same systems that shall be used in a much larger the Mark 2 lander that may take astronauts to the lunar surface.
The Mark 1 lander can carry up to three tons of cargo to the lunar surface, but shall be sufficiently small to fit on considered one of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets. New Glenn has not yet flown, but the company says its debut flight will take place later this 12 months.
After Blue Moon Mark 1 is launched into orbit about 200 km above the Earth’s surface, the lander’s BE-7 engine will push it toward the Moon, slowing it so it may possibly enter orbit around the Moon after which guide it to land on the surface.
The smaller size means the Mark 1 lander, unlike Starship, won’t need to refuel before leaving Earth orbit. Demonstrating on-orbit refueling technology shall be a key validation test of the Starship design. Refueling will even be obligatory for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander.
