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Jeff Bezos’ Answers the Artemis Call, Creates Task Force for Moon Landing

It’s not very often that we get to hear something new and official from Jeff Bezos’ space-faring company, but when we do, it usually is something big. Last we learned from Blue Origin, the company unveiled the Blue Moon lander. Now, the company plans on building one version of it specifically for the NASA Artemis program.
Blue Origin Blue Moon 10 photos
Photo: SpaceNews/Jeff Foust
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Having been pushed by the American administration into returning to the Moon a tad faster than initially projected, NASA is now scrambling to find the resources and partners that will support the implementation of the new space program.

Back in May 2019, NASA selected Blue Origin, alongside Elon Musk’s SpaceX and nine other companies to work on the lander that will put humans back on the Moon next decade.

At the 2019 International Astronautical Congress in Washington, D.C. this week, Blue Origin’s own Jeff Bezos said his space company would be working with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper for the completion of a lander.

This “national team,” as Bezos calls the partnership, will handle all there is to handle when it comes to creating the technology. Blue Origin itself will be working on the descent element, which will be based on the Blue Moon and the BE-7 engine.

Lockheed Martin has been put in charge with developing the ascent element, Northrop Grumman will link the two by providing the transfer element, and Draper has been tasked with creating descent guidance and flight avionics.

“National challenges call for a national response. We are humbled and inspired to lead this deeply committed team that will land NASA astronauts on the Moon,” said in a statement Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin.

“Combining our partners’ heritage with our advance work on the Blue Moon lunar lander and its BE-7 engine, our team is looking forward to working with NASA in support of the Artemis program.”

More on the Artemis program can be found here.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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