NASA and Partners Fast-Track Lunar Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions

As NASA embarks on its ambitious journey to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a sustainable presence on the Moon, significant advancements have been made in collaboration with commercial partners Blue Origin and SpaceX. The designs and operational concepts for future crewed lunar landers have been refined, paving the way for upcoming missions.

Redefining Lunar Missions with Artemis III

Since the establishment of initial contracts with Blue Origin and SpaceX for crewed lunar missions, NASA has redefined its goals for Artemis III. This mission aims to showcase the rendezvous and docking capabilities between prototype landers developed by both companies and the agency’s Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit next year. In tandem, the companies are also working on crew and cargo variants of their landers to support near-term Artemis missions.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasised, “We are executing President Trump’s National Space Policy to complete the long-awaited return of American astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028 and establish a Moon Base. We are not merely waiting for all the elements to align; we are actively rebuilding our core capabilities and maintaining a relentless pace of progress. Our teams are dedicated to achieving these ambitious objectives.”

Launching from Kennedy Space Center

For the upcoming crewed lunar missions, Artemis astronauts will be launched aboard the Orion spacecraft, propelled by the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Throughout each Artemis mission, a commercial human landing system will rendezvous with Orion before transporting two crew members to the lunar surface, while the remaining crew stays aboard the spacecraft. To expedite development for the 2028 landing, the Artemis landers and Orion will meet in varying orbits tailored to each partner’s systems, rather than the previously planned near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon.

Both Blue Origin and SpaceX are mandated to conduct uncrewed demonstration missions with their respective crewed landers prior to any crewed Artemis missions to ensure safety and mission integrity, with NASA certifying the systems involved.

Innovative Approaches to Propellant Management

SpaceX is pursuing an innovative in-space propellant aggregation strategy, which involves transferring super-cold liquid propellant in orbit. The company plans to launch multiple versions of the Starship to low Earth orbit ahead of the Human Landing System (HLS) launch from Florida. This approach resembles a gas station on Earth, where tanker Starships in orbit will refuel the depot Starship, ultimately supplying the lander for its lunar journey.

In the revised operational framework, the Starship HLS will remain in Earth orbit until it rendezvous with Orion and its crew. Following this docking, the Starship lander will execute a trans-lunar injection burn, propelling the combined stack to low lunar orbit. NASA is currently modifying Orion to facilitate this collaboration, enabling Starship to assist in transporting crew members to the lunar surface for several days before returning them to Orion for their journey back to Earth.

Blue Origin’s Approach to Lunar Landings

For its accelerated lunar landing mission in 2028, Blue Origin has opted to defer propellant transfer and utilise three transfer stages to send the Blue Moon Mark 2 Alpha Lander to the Moon. This system operates similarly to a multistage rocket, launching into low Earth orbit before deploying the Mark 2 lander. Upon docking, the stack will proceed to an elliptical polar orbit around the Moon, with each stage detaching as its fuel is consumed. This method not only facilitates quicker returns from the lunar surface but also reduces propellant demands for the Blue Moon lander while optimising the performance of the SLS.

This architecture allows for multiple opportunities for SLS and Orion to launch crews to elliptical polar orbit, where they will dock with the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. Two crew members will then descend to the lunar South Pole, conduct surface operations, and ultimately return to Orion for their return trip to Earth.

Partnerships and Future Endeavours

NASA will rely on the readiness of the landers to determine which company will first be tasked with safely delivering astronauts to the Moon in 2028, with a second crewed landing opportunity to follow. The agency anticipates approximately two, two-hour lunar surface Moonwalks during these initial missions, during which astronauts will collect lunar samples and test the capabilities of spacesuits provided by Axiom Space.

Earlier this year, NASA updated its contracts with Blue Origin and SpaceX to align human landing system requirements with accelerated efforts to streamline the Artemis mission architecture. This update ensures that both providers are integrated into the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit, with no specific assignments to any particular lunar landing mission.

Enhancing Safety and Mission Success

Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s Artemis programme manager, remarked on the collaborative spirit between NASA and its lunar lander providers: “We have been working closely with Blue Origin and SpaceX to ensure the timely return of American astronauts to the Moon by 2028. The updated contracts reinforce our shared vision and commitment to mission success, while enhancing astronaut safety through increased insight into lander development.”

Both companies have introduced additional development milestones aimed at providing NASA with greater visibility into the progress of their lander development, thereby mitigating risks. SpaceX is set to demonstrate its crew cabin, while Blue Origin will implement new human-in-the-loop testing and readiness milestones to ensure efficient training and operations.

As part of a new era of exploration and innovation, NASA aims to send Artemis astronauts on increasingly complex missions near the lunar South Pole, striving to uncover more of the Moon than ever before. This initiative not only promises economic benefits and advances in scientific discovery but also seeks to establish a lasting human presence on the lunar surface, thereby laying the groundwork for the first crewed mission to Mars.