Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander passes important NASA test
Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK1 lander is scheduled to fly to the moon this year. The spacecraft has just passed an important test.
Lander Blue Moon MK1 in the NASA test facility Vacuum Chamber A.
(Image: NASA)
The US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is testing the Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lunar lander from the US space company Blue Origin. The spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to fly to the moon this year.
According to its statements, NASA has intensively tested endurance in Chamber A of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. This is “one of the world's largest thermal vacuum test facilities,” where the vacuum and extreme temperatures that a spacecraft is exposed to in space can be simulated.
NASA is testing the structural and thermal integrity of the spacecraft. Blue Moon MK1 has passed these important tests. Endurance was then transported to Florida, where NASA is testing the lander's communication systems, Blue Origin announced via the microblogging service X.
Laser guidance system for lunar orbiter
Endurance is an unmanned lander scheduled to fly to the moon this year. According to NASA, the mission's goal is to demonstrate precise landing and the functionality of important systems such as propulsion, autonomous navigation, and control.
In addition, Endurance is to bring two scientific payloads to the moon: a camera system that records the interaction between the engine jet and the lunar surface during the lander's descent and landing, and a laser that enables spacecraft in lunar orbit to determine their position more accurately.
Endurance also serves to prepare for the upcoming manned moon landing: Blue Origin and competitor SpaceX are to build landers for the Artemis 4 mission. This is intended to bring humans back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years – according to US President Donald Trump in 2028.
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Artemis 3 is scheduled to launch in 2027, during which the four-person crew will train rendezvous and docking maneuvers with a lunar module. According to NASA, the maneuvers will be carried out with the spacecraft that is then available – the one from Blue Origin, the one from SpaceX, or both.
(wpl)
