
NASA Selects Blue Origin for Astronaut Mission to the Moon
KENT, WA -- NASA has awarded a NextSTEP-2 Appendix P Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract to Blue Origin. Blue Origin’s National Team partners include Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.
Under this contract, Blue Origin and its National Team partners will develop and fly both a lunar lander that can make a precision landing anywhere on the Moon’s surface and a cislunar transporter. These vehicles are powered by LOX-LH2. The high-specific impulse of LOX-LH2 provides a dramatic advantage for high-energy deep space missions. Nevertheless, lower performing but more easily storable propellants (such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide as used on the Apollo lunar landers) have been favored for these missions because of the problematic boil-off of LOX-LH2 during their long mission timelines. Through this contract, we will move the state of the art forward by making high-performance LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination. Under SLD, we will develop and fly solar-powered 20-degree Kelvin cryocoolers and the other technologies required to prevent LOX-LH2 boil-off. Future missions beyond the Moon, and enabling capabilities such as high-performance nuclear thermal propulsion, will benefit greatly from storable LH2. Blue Origin’s architecture also prepares for that future day when lunar ice can be used to manufacture LOX and LH2 propellants on the Moon.
Blue Origin and its partners are already at work and are excited to be on this journey with NASA.

Share
Latest Posts
- Apr 14, 2025News
Blue Origin’s New Shepard Rocket Completes 31st Mission To Space
Blue Origin successfully completed its 11th human spaceflight for the New Shepard program. The crew included Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez.
- Apr 4, 2025News
New Glenn Awarded Critical National Security Space Launch Contract
Blue Origin won a contract to serve as a National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2 heavy-lift provider for the nation’s most critical missions.
- Mar 24, 2025News
Firefly Aerospace Selects Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics to Provide Rover for Lunar Mission to Gruithuisen Domes
Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, was contracted by Firefly to provide the lunar rover for the company’s recently awarded NASA task order to explore the Gruithuisen Domes on the Moon’s near side in 2028.