Blue Moon (spacecraft)

Last updated
Blue Moon (MK2)
Artemis V HLS concept of operations.svg
Artemis V concept of operations with Blue Moon
Manufacturer Blue Origin
Country of originUnited States
Operator NASA, Blue Origin
ApplicationsCrewed and robotic reusable lunar landing
Specifications
Spacecraft type Lunar lander
Launch mass>45,000 kg (99,000 lb) [1]
Dry mass16,000 kg (35,000 lb) [1]
Payload capacity20,000 kg (44,000 lb) (cargo variant, reusable)
30,000 kg (66,000 lb) (cargo variant, one-way) [2]
Crew capacity4
Regime
Design life30 days
Dimensions
Height16 m (52 ft) [1]
Production
StatusIn development
Blue Moon (MK1)
Manufacturer Blue Origin
Country of originUnited States
Operator Blue Origin
ApplicationsRobotic lunar landing
Specifications
Spacecraft type Lunar lander
Launch mass21,350 kg (47,070 lb)
Payload capacity3,000 kg (6,600 lb)
Dimensions
Height8.05 m (26.4 ft)
Diameter3.08 m (10.1 ft) [3]
Production
StatusIn development
The Blue Origin construction site at Exploration Park is seen during an aerial survey of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 12, 2017. Blue Origin construction site at Exploration Park.jpg
The Blue Origin construction site at Exploration Park is seen during an aerial survey of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 12, 2017.

Blue Moon is a family of lunar landers and their associated infrastructure, intended to carry humans and cargo to the Moon, under development by a consortium led by Blue Origin and including Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics. Two versions of Blue Moon are under development: a robotic lander planned to land on the Moon in 2024, [4] [5] and a larger human lander planned to land a crew of four astronauts on the lunar surface for the NASA Artemis V mission in 2029. [6]

Contents

Development of the smaller, uncrewed lander began in 2016 and was publicly revealed in 2017. It is planned to be capable of delivering up to 3.0 tonnes (3.3 short tons) of payload to the surface of the Moon. [7] Originally envisioned as a way to gain experience with lunar landings and to support technology development, MK 1 is also marketed independently of MK2. The lander has been proposed for a number of projected roles; an initial goal was a lunar south pole landing, where it was proposed that a series of landings could be used to deliver the infrastructure for a Moon base. [4] [5] [8] Blue Moon formed the basis of part of the Integrated Lander Vehicle, a proposal for a human lander bid, but was not chosen for the Artemis HLS program. [9]

The human lander, referred to as MK2, [2] was chosen by NASA as the winner of the Sustaining Lunar Development Human Landing System contract in May 2023. It is the second human lunar lander under contract by NASA for the Artemis HLS program, alongside Starship HLS. [10] It is intended to carry up to 4 astronauts to the lunar surface for up to 30 days in a fully reusable configuration, with a cargo variant also planned. [2] The lander is designed to be paired with a space tug called the Cislunar Transporter, to be built by Lockheed Martin. [1] The Cislunar Transporter is launched in two parts, a tug and a tanker, to low Earth orbit before refueling Blue Moon in a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit. [11] Both MK2 and the Cislunar Transporter are to be powered by three BE-7 engines burning liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. [7] They are intended to make use of new cryogenic fluid management technologies under development, including those to enable long-term on-orbit storage of their cryogenic propellants. [12]

Description

Several spacecraft designs are included in the Blue Moon program. These include the Mark 1 lander, the Mark 2, and the Cislunar Transporter. Additionally, the BE-7 liquid rocket engine is under development and testing, and is intended to be used on each of these spacecraft.

Mark 1

Blue Moon MK1, powered by a single BE-7 engine, is an autonomous lunar lander planned to be able to deliver and support cargo on the surface of the Moon. The MK1 spacecraft is 8.05 m (26.4 ft) tall and 3.08 m (10.1 ft) in diameter, with a fuelled mass of 21,350 kg (47,070 lb). [3] With a payload capacity reaching 3.0 tonnes (3.3 short tons), uses suggested for MK1 include delivery of lunar rovers, as well as a "base station" that would serve as a power and communications outpost for lunar exploration. [7] Blue Moon MK1 will be used as a platform for NASA's Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) payload. Blue Moon's high-thrust engine will be used to study interactions between rocket exhaust plumes and the lunar surface. [3] Uncrewed technology demonstration and risk reduction missions using MK1 are to be performed as early as 2024 and 2025. [13] As of 2023, these missions are scheduled to take place no later than 2026. [7] The flight computers, avionics, reaction control system, and power system of MK1 are to be in common with those used on MK2. [7]

Mark 2

Blue Moon MK2 is to carry 4 astronauts to the Moon, for up to 30 days at a time, starting with the NASA Artemis 5 mission, set for 2030. [14] The Blue Moon lander is to be capable of conducting crewed lunar landings lasting up to 30 days, pending an uncrewed demonstration flight scheduled for 2027. [7] This uncrewed flight is to be a full demonstration of the HLS portion of the Artemis 5 mission, including the lander's life support systems, that would see the lander returning to near-rectilinear halo orbit after departing the lunar surface. [15] A variant of the lander designed to carry cargo is also planned, capable of carrying a payload of up to 20 t (44,000 lb) to the surface of the Moon in a reusable configuration or 30 t (66,000 lb) in a one-way mission. [1]

A technology critical for the operation of Blue Moon, being developed by Blue Origin, is a solar-powered propellant boiloff mitigation mechanism intended to enable long-term storage of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen at temperatures as low as 20 K (−253 °C; −424 °F). [16] Such a system will enable the spacecraft to loiter in orbit or on the surface of the Moon, potentially allowing a permanent lunar presence or supporting nuclear thermal propulsion. [17]

Blue Origin is to lead the development of the lander, which is designed to fit in the 7 m (23 ft) payload fairing of the New Glenn launch vehicle in order to launch aboard the rocket. [7] [18] Astrobotic is to provide a cargo accommodation system for Blue Moon, to be used for large payloads such as surface habitats or lunar rovers. [19] Boeing is to supply a docking system; Draper is to provide guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) technology, and Honeybee Robotics will be responsible for supplying cargo delivery systems. [19]

Cislunar Transporter

Lockheed Martin is to design and operate a reusable space tug called the Cislunar Transporter as part of the Blue Moon architecture. [20] The Cislunar Transporter consists of two parts, a tug, with 3 BE-7 engines, and a tanker, which are each to be launched on a New Glenn carrier rocket before docking together to form a single vehicle. After these components are assembled, the vehicle is then to be fueled by New Glenn upper stages transferring liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants. The transporter will then travel to near-rectilinear halo orbit, where it is to dock to and fuel the Blue Moon lander. Lockheed Martin has suggested that the Cislunar Transporter could also be used to service other customers. [7] The same zero-boil-off system intended for Blue Moon will also be present on the Transporter. [7]

BE-7

Both variants of Blue Moon, as well as the Cislunar Transporter, are to be powered by the BE-7 liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine currently under development. [7] [21] [22] MK1 is to use a single engine, whereas the other spacecraft are to each use three. [7] The BE-7 burns its propellants, chosen in part because they can be produced on the surface of the Moon from lunar ice, in the dual expander cycle, [23] wherein each propellant flows through the engine, gaining heat energy, which is then used to spin turbines, providing energy to pump propellant into the combustion chamber. [24] The BE-7 engine is designed to produce a maximum of 44 kN (10,000 lbf) of thrust and to throttle down to produce as little as 8.9 kN (2,000 lbf) of thrust. [25] In addition to this "deep throttle" capability, it is also meant to be highly efficient, with high specific impulse, and to be capable of restarting multiple times. [25] The BE-7 is additively manufactured, [26] with components such as the injector being additively manufactured in a single piece. [27] The regeneratively-cooled nozzle is composed of a nickel super-alloy jacket, vacuum-brazed onto a copper liner, and hydraulically formed into the nozzle's bell shape. [28]

History

Robotic spacecraft

Design work on a Blue Origin robotic lunar lander began in 2016. [29] The lander platform was first publicly revealed in March 2017, [30] [31] featuring a lunar-surface-delivered payload capacity of 4,500 kg (10,000 lb). [30] At that time the first lunar landing mission was projected to take place in 2020. [30] [4] In April 2017, Blue Origin president Rob Meyerson stated that the lander could be launched by multiple launch vehicles, including Blue Origin's New Glenn, Atlas V, NASA's Space Launch System, or the Vulcan launch vehicle. [32] [30] In a May 2018 interview, Blue Origin's CEO Jeff Bezos indicated that Blue Origin would build Blue Moon on its own, with private funding, but that the project's pace would increase should governmental space agency partner with the company. Bezos mentioned Space Directive 1, which oriented NASA towards pursuing lunar missions, and his support for the Moon Village concept, "a proposal promoted by European Space Agency head Jan Woerner for cooperation among countries and companies to cooperate... on lunar capabilities". [33]

In May 2019, Blue Origin unveiled a mockup of the Blue Moon lander at the Washington D.C. Convention Center and released specification details for the autonomous lander planned to land up to 6.5 t (14,000 lb) on the Moon, [29] to be powered by the newly unveiled BE-7. [29] [21] Blue Moon-derived concepts aimed at carrying passengers to the Moon were also exhibited. [29] That July, NASA announced that Glenn Research Center and Johnson Space Center would engage in an partnership with Blue Origin to develop a fuel cell power system for the Blue Moon lander, in order to enable it to survive the two-week-long lunar night, during which time solar power is unavailable. [34]

Integrated Lander Vehicle

In October 2019, the National Team of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper Laboratory announced that it would collaborate to create a proposal for the "Human Landing System" (HLS) for NASA's Artemis program. [35] Blue Origin was to serve as the primary contractor, with a variant of its Blue Moon Lunar Lander serving as the descent stage. Lockheed Martin would build the ascent stage, in part based on its Orion crew capsule. Northrop Grumman would build a transfer stage based on its Cygnus spacecraft. The lander was projected to launch on the Blue Origin New Glenn launch vehicle. [35] In April 2020, Blue Origin won a design contract of US$579 million from NASA to advance the design of a human lunar lander for the Artemis program during a 10-month period in 2020–2021. [36] [37] [38] Contracted design work started in 2020 and continued into 2021, when NASA was to evaluate which contractors would be offered contracts for initial demonstration missions and select firms for development and maturation of lunar lander systems. [36] [39] The ILV was aimed at landing NASA astronauts on the Moon as early as 2024, [37] [39] [36] following an uncrewed demonstrator that was to land on the Moon as early as 2023. [38] The ILV descent element was a variant of the Blue Moon lunar lander that Blue Origin had been working on for nearly three years by early 2020. [38] At the end of the year-long program, the ILV was not chosen for further development, NASA having selected instead SpaceX's Starship HLS bid. [40] Although NASA had previously stated it wished to procure multiple Human Landing Systems, it only selected one lander design, citing budgetary limitations. [41]

Sustaining Lunar Development crewed lander

NASA bidding and contract

In May 2023, NASA selected Blue Moon as the second lander procured under the Artemis HLS program, under Appendix P of the NextSTEP-2 contracting structure, also known as Sustaining Lunar Development. [42] Blue Moon was proposed by a renewed National Team, with slightly different composition than that which had developed the Integrated Lander Vehicle. [12] The total value of the contract was approximately US$3.4 billion; Blue Origin stated that it was providing at least that amount of funding itself to the Blue Moon project. [13] Blue Moon had successfully competed with the Dynetics ALPACA for the contract; NASA stated that the lower cost and technical strengths of Blue Moon led to its selection. [15] Appendix P had been open to bidding, with the exception of SpaceX, which had received a similar contract under Option B of Appendix H of NextSTEP-2, as provided for by the original HLS contract. [43]

See also

Related Research Articles

Human spaceflight programs have been conducted, started, or planned by multiple countries and companies. Until the 21st century, human spaceflight programs were sponsored exclusively by governments, through either the military or civilian space agencies. With the launch of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of human spaceflight programs – commercial human spaceflight – arrived. By the end of 2022, three countries and one private company (SpaceX) had successfully launched humans to Earth orbit, and two private companies had launched humans on a suborbital trajectory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Origin</span> American aerospace company

Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P., commonly referred to as Blue Origin, is an American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. The company makes rocket engines for United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket and is currently operating its suborbital reusable New Shephard vehicle. Blue Origin is developing its heavy-lift launch vehicle named New Glenn, the Blue Moon human lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program, and Orbital Reef space station in partnership with other companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar lander</span> Spacecraft intended to land on the surface of the Moon

A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 1972 during the United States' Apollo Program. Several robotic landers have reached the surface, and some have returned samples to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis III</span> Third orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis III is planned to be the first crewed Moon landing mission of the Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Starship HLS lander. Artemis III is planned to be the second crewed Artemis mission and the first American crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972. In December 2023, the Government Accountability Office reported that the mission is not likely to occur before 2027; as of January 2024, NASA officially expects Artemis III to launch no earlier than September 2026 due to issues with the valves in Orion's life support system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar Gateway</span> Lunar orbital space station under development

The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is a space station which is planned to be assembled in orbit around the Moon. The Gateway is intended to serve as a communication hub, science laboratory, and habitation module for astronauts as part of the Artemis program. It is a multinational collaborative project: participants include NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The Gateway is planned to be the first space station beyond low Earth orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Lunar Payload Services</span> NASA program contracting commercial transportation services to the Moon

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) is a NASA program to hire companies to send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon. Most landing sites are near the lunar south pole where they will scout for lunar resources, test in situ resource utilization (ISRU) concepts, and perform lunar science to support the Artemis lunar program. CLPS is intended to buy end-to-end payload services between Earth and the lunar surface using fixed-price contracts. The program achieved the first landing on the moon by a commercial company in history with the IM-1 mission in 2024. The program was extended to add support for large payloads starting after 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intuitive Machines Nova-C</span> Lunar lander developed by Intuitive Machines

The Intuitive Machines Nova-C, or simply Nova-C, is a class of lunar landers designed by Intuitive Machines (IM) to deliver small payloads to the surface of the Moon. Intuitive Machines was one of three service providers awarded task orders in 2019 for delivery of NASA science payloads to the Moon. The IM-1 lunar lander, named Odysseus, was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 15 February 2024, reached lunar orbit on 21 February, and landed on the lunar surface on 22 February. This marked the inaugural Nova-C landing on the Moon and the first American spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon in over 50 years. It is the first spacecraft to use methalox propulsion to navigate between the Earth and the Moon.

The Blue Engine 7 is a liquid hydrogen/oxygen dual expander cycle engine for use with the Blue Moon family of lunar landers. The company utilizes additive manufacturing in the development process and it is meant to generate 10,000 lbf (4.5 tf) of thrust, serving as both the ascent and descent engines for Blue Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis program</span> NASA-led lunar exploration program

The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. It is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The program's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis V</span> Fifth orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis V is the fifth planned mission of NASA's Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Blue Moon lander. The mission will launch four astronauts on a Space Launch System rocket and an Orion to the Lunar Gateway and will be the third lunar landing of the Artemis program. In addition, Artemis V will also deliver two new elements to the Gateway Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship HLS</span> Lunar lander variant of SpaceX Starship

Starship HLS is a lunar lander variant of the Starship spacecraft that is slated to transfer astronauts from a lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back. It is being designed and built by SpaceX under the Human Landing System contract to NASA as a critical element of NASA's Artemis program to land a crew on the Moon.

The Integrated Lander Vehicle (ILV) was a human spaceflight lunar lander design concept proposed in 2020/21 for the NASA Human Landing System (HLS) component of the Artemis program. Blue Origin was the lead contractor for the multi-element lunar lander that was to include major components from several large US government space contractors including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper Laboratory.

The Dynetics Autonomous Logistics Platform for All-Moon Cargo Access (ALPACA)—also known as Dynetics HLS—(ILV) is a human spaceflight lunar lander design concept proposed in 2020/21 for the NASA Human Landing System (HLS) component of the Artemis program. Dynetics was the lead contractor for the ALPACA lander—other contractors included Sierra Nevada Corporation—for NASA's Artemis Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power and Propulsion Element</span> Power and propulsion module for the Gateway space station

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), previously known as the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle propulsion system, is a planned solar electric ion propulsion module being developed by Maxar Technologies for NASA. It is one of the major components of the Lunar Gateway. The PPE will allow access to the entire lunar surface and a wide range of lunar orbits and double as a space tug for visiting craft.

A Human Landing System (HLS) is a spacecraft in the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Artemis program that is expected to land humans on the Moon. These are being designed to convey astronauts from the Lunar Gateway space station in lunar orbit to the lunar surface, sustain them there, and then return them to the Gateway station. As of 2024 NASA intends to use Starship HLS for Artemis III, an enhanced Starship HLS for Artemis IV, and a Blue Origin HLS for Artemis V.

<i>Blue Origin Federation, LLC v. United States</i> 2021 U.S. court case

On 13 August 2021, Blue Origin filed a complaint to the United States Court of Federal Claims about NASA's award of $2.9 billion to SpaceX. The award was used by the company to further develop Starship HLS, a lunar lander that NASA selected for the Artemis program. On 4 November 2021, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed the complaint, and the accompanying memorandum opinion was titled Blue Origin v. United States & Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Blue Origin's complaint and prior actions have received attention from the news media and spaceflight industries.

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost, or simply Blue Ghost, is a class of lunar landers designed and manufactured by Firefly Aerospace (Firefly). Firefly plans to operate Blue Ghost landers to deliver small payloads to the surface of the Moon. The first Blue Ghost mission is scheduled for launch in 2024.

References

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