NASA is revamping the Artemis moon plan – and the owner of Blue Origin could be given a bigger role

NASA is retooling its Artemis lunar program to add a mission to test a human lunar probe into low Earth orbit next year, with a lunar landing to follow in 2028 at the earliest. The updated plan raises the profile of the Blue Moon lander being built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture.

“We’re all in!” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in an email to X.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took over last December, announced the schedule change today. “This will be our way back to the moon,” he said.

The next step on the path is the same as the one we’ve been on: NASA is getting ready to use its massive Space Launch System rocket to launch four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon in the Orion capsule. That Artemis 2 mission is currently not scheduled to happen before April, due to a helium leak that forced it to be pushed back to the launch site this week to fix problems.

NASA’s previous plan calls for a follow-up to Artemis 2 with a crewed lunar landing next year on Artemis 3. However, development of the SpaceX Starship’s cleaner on that mission has been slower than expected.

Under the revised structure, Artemis 3 becomes an orbital test carried out by the crew of SpaceX’s Starship and/or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. The mission may also test next-generation space suits being developed for cross-country missions. The first Artemis lunar landing program will follow in 2028, possibly using Starship or Blue Moon.

This is consistent with the timeline of the Apollo lunar mission: In 1969, Apollo 9 launched a lunar probe into Earth orbit, setting the stage for the Apollo 10 lunar probe and the historic Apollo 11 moon landing a few months later.

NASA’s revised mission design also holds plans for the development of the SLS rocket’s upper stage. NASA and its commercial partners will instead move to a conventional rocket configuration that would allow at least one mission to the lunar surface per year. “Measuring traffic, increasing air quality and moving toward objectives in a logical, phased manner is how we achieved the near-impossible in 1969, and it’s how we’ll do it again,” Isaacman said.

Boeing, which has been in charge of developing the next-generation superstructure, has shown that it is on board in a new way. “As NASA accelerates the launch program, our workforce and supply chain are ready to meet increased production demands,” said Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, in a news release.

The revised plan addresses concerns that the previous plan to land on the moon by 2027 was becoming increasingly unrealistic – and that moving directly from Artemis 2 to a lunar lander, without a lunar crew test, would be too risky.

The new plan “reflects the changes we need to keep our program reliable and our teams focused on what’s most important, which is safe and accessible missions,” said NASA administrator Amit Kshatriya.

The update also comes amid concerns that China may land astronauts on the moon before NASA does. In response to a question, Isaacman acknowledged competition with China but downplayed its role in discussions about the Artemis program.

“I think competition is good,” he told reporters. “We’re here talking to you about how to use common sense to achieve a goal, whether we had a major competitor in the race or not. If we’re committed to going back to the moon, we have the resources to do it again. We have the presidential mandate to get the job done. What strategy can be accomplished, without competition? And I can tell you, launching every three years is not ideal.”

NASA said it will adjust its Artemis 3 mission plan next year after completing a detailed review with its industry partners. “We’ve had the opportunity to have these conversations with all of our partners in the industry. … Everyone agrees that this is the only way forward,” Isaacman said. “And I will say that we’ve had similar conversations with all of our stakeholders in Congress, and they’re completely behind NASA on this.”

Blue Origin is already accelerating its Blue Moon development plan. Last month, the Kent, Wash.-based company said it was suspending its suborbital New Shepard program for at least two years to shift resources to lunar projects. An inactive, cargo-carrying version of the Blue Moon lander will be launched to the moon sometime this year.

It’s been three years since Blue Origin won NASA’s $3.4 billion contract to provide a crewed version of the Earth’s first Artemis 5, then scheduled for 2029. When hints about a revised timeline for the Artemis mission first surfaced last year, a Blue Origin executive said the Blue Moon development timeline could be revised.

“If NASA wants to speed us up to go faster, we’ll go up faster,” John Couluris, vice president of Blue Origin’s lunar permanence division, said last September. “Right now it’s on Artemis 5. If they want us to leave early, we’ll cooperate as quickly as possible.”