After losing to Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2021, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin may have a second chance. Looking for a second moon lander to serve as a backup, NASA is now accepting bids from companies, including Blue Origin.
What Happened: On Tuesday, Blue Origin announced it had been chosen to pitch a lunar lander to NASA. Lockheed Martin Corp LMT and Boeing Co BA will partner with Bezo’s space company for this project.
NASA is expected to make a decision in June 2023, reported Reuters.
Blue Origin’s initial proposal was rejected in 2021 when it lost to SpaceX. That did not go over well and Blue Origin filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against NASA, which Blue Origin lost.
Why It Matters: SpaceX was chosen by NASA last year to develop the first commercial human lander as part of NASA’s Artemis program. The lander will carry two American astronauts to the Moon’s surface from the Orion spacecraft orbiting with two other astronauts.
After about a week of exploring the surface, the astronauts will board the lander for the trip to Orion and then return to Earth.
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Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.