In May 2023, NASA selected Blue Origin to develop the Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system for the Artemis V mission, awarding the company the Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract valued at $3.4 billion . The decision gave America a second pathway to the lunar surface alongside SpaceX's Starship HLS, ensuring redundancy and competition in one of the most critical elements of the Artemis program. For Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos , who established the company in 2000 — two years before SpaceX — the contract represented vindication after an unsuccessful protest of SpaceX's original HLS award. Blue Origin's approach differs fundamentally from SpaceX's: a purpose-built lunar lander using proven hydrogen-oxygen propulsion, designed from the ground up for reusable cislunar transportation. AI-generated image The BE-7 engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, powers both the Blue Moon lander and the Cislunar Transporter. Company History and Space Vision Blue Origin was founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in September 2000, making it one of the oldest private space companies in operation. The company's motto — "Gradatim Ferociter" (Step by Step, Ferociously) — reflects a development philosophy that prioritizes methodical engineering over the move-fast-and-break-things approach of some competitors. For its first two decades, Blue Origin largely operated in stealth, developing the New Shepard suborbital vehicle and the BE-3 and BE-4 rocket engines. The company's lunar ambitions became public in May 2019 when Bezos unveiled the Blue Moon lander concept at a Washington, D.C. event. The original vision called for a cargo lander capable of delivering 3.6 metric tons to the lunar surface, powered by a new hydrogen-fueled engine called the BE-7 . This lander concept evolved into what is now known as the Mark 1 configuration, while the larger crewed variant became the Mark 2. Blue Origin's "National Team" for the original HLS competition included Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper . Although that bid lost to SpaceX in 2021, Blue Origin restructured its team — replacing Northrop Grumman with Boeing and Astrobotic, and adding Honeybee Robotics — and won the SLD contract on its second attempt. Blue Moon: Two Landers, One Architecture Mark 1: The Robotic Pathfinder Blue Moon Mark 1 is a robotic cargo lander standing 8.05 meters tall with a diameter of 3.08 meters and a fueled mass of 21,350 kg. Powered by a single BE-7 engine, it can deliver up to 3,000 kg of payload to the lunar surface. The vehicle shares common avionics, flight computers, reaction control systems, and power systems with the larger Mark 2, serving as both a commercial delivery platform and a technology pathfinder. Originally planned for a 2024 landing that has slipped to 2026, Mark 1 is envisioned as a workhorse for lunar surface logistics — delivering rovers, power stations, and communications equipment. In September 2025, NASA awarded Blue Origin a CLPS study contract to evaluate using a second Mark 1 to deploy the VIPER rover on the lunar surface, after the original VIPER mission was cancelled. Mark 2: The Crewed Lander Blue Moon Mark 2 is significantly larger — standing 16 meters tall with a fueled mass exceeding 45,000 kg. It can carry a crew of four astronauts and support lunar surface stays of up to 30 days . The cargo variant can deliver 20,000 kg in a reusable configuration or 30,000 kg on a one-way mission. Three BE-7 engines provide propulsion for both descent and ascent, and the vehicle is designed for full reusability. $3.4B SLD Contract Value 4 Crew Capacity 30 days Surface Stay Duration 30 t Max Cargo (One-Way) 16 m Lander Height 3 BE-7 Engines The Cislunar Transporter A critical piece of the Blue Moon architecture is the Cislunar Transporter , a space tug designed and built by Lockheed Martin. This vehicle serves as the logistical bridge between Earth orbit and the Moon. It launches in two parts — a tug and a tanker — to low Earth orbit, where they mate and refuel before boosting Blue Moon to its operating position in near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. The Cislunar Transporter is powered by three BE-7 engines — the same propulsion system as the lander itself — burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This propellant commonality simplifies the supply chain and enables potential cross-vehicle servicing. Both the transporter and the lander incorporate advanced cryogenic fluid management technologies for long-term on-orbit storage of their propellants, one of the most challenging aspects of hydrogen-fueled space architectures. AI-generated image The Lockheed Martin-built Cislunar Transporter will ferry Blue Moon between Earth orbit and the Moon. New Glenn: Blue Origin's Heavy-Lift Rocket New Glenn is Blue Origin's heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle, standing 98 meters tall with a reusable first stage powered by seven BE-4 engines. After years of development, the rocket completed two successful flights in 2025, cementing its place as a credible alternative to SpaceX's Falcon 9 for commercial and government payloads. The first launch (NG-1) in January 2025 reached orbit but did not recover the booster. The second mission (NG-2) in November 2025 delivered NASA's ESCAPADE twin Mars-bound spacecraft and achieved the first-ever booster landing on the Atlantic droneship Jacklyn — a reusability milestone that validated the core economics of the program. The recovered booster, named "Never Tell Me The Odds," is being prepared for the NG-3 mission. NG-3, carrying AST SpaceMobile's Block 2 BlueBird broadband satellite to LEO, was targeting late February or early March 2026 but remained unlaunched as of mid-March 2026, with second-stage stacking underway at Launch Complex 36. The mission will also be the first flight of a reused New Glenn booster, an important step toward the four successful flights needed for U.S. Space Force certification. New Glenn Flight Record Mission Date Payload Booster NG-1 Jan 2025 Blue Origin demo payload Not recovered NG-2 Nov 13, 2025 NASA ESCAPADE (Mars) First booster landing NG-3 Pending (NET Q1 2026) AST SpaceMobile BlueBird NG-2 booster refly Timeline and Mission Architecture Blue Origin's path to the Moon follows a phased approach. An uncrewed demonstration flight of the Mark 2 is now scheduled for February 2029 , shifted from the original 2027 target after delays identified in NASA's March 2026 OIG audit (see below). The crewed Artemis V mission is currently targeted for March 2030 . The Mark 1 robotic lander is expected to reach the lunar surface in 2026, providing Blue Origin with critical operational data on landing systems, surface operations, and communications before the crewed mission. This pathfinder approach exemplifies the company's step-by-step philosophy — validating systems incrementally rather than attempting everything on a single high-stakes mission. The Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Blue Moon Mark 2 is now targeted for July 2026 , having slipped from an original April 2028 date and then again by roughly 11 additional months due to open Preliminary Design Review actions, propellant margin issues, and cryogenic fluid management challenges. As of August 2025, approximately half of the PDR action items remained open. NASA OIG Audit: Schedule Delays and Safety Gaps (March 2026) On March 10, 2026, NASA's Office of Inspector General released report IG-26-004 , a sweeping audit of the agency's management of HLS contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin. The findings were pointed. Both programs face schedule pressure, but the OIG saved its sharpest language for unresolved crew safety risks. OIG Key Findings for Blue Moon Schedule: At least 8 months behind baseline. CDR slipped from April 2028 to July 2026 with additional delays anticipated. Uncrewed demo moved to February 2029, Artemis V no earlier than March 2030. Testing gaps: Uncrewed demos will exclude life support (ECLSS), airlocks, and elevator systems. Lig