After New Glenn anomaly, Blue Origin keeps focus on upcoming Blue Moon and Mars missions

Date:
Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:22:54 +0000

Description:
Following the damaging loss of New Glenn during hotfire testing at Launch Complex 36 in The post After New Glenn anomaly, Blue Origin keeps focus on upcoming Blue Moon and Mars missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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Following the damaging loss of New Glenn during hotfire testing at Launch Complex 36 in late May, Blue Origin is moving quickly to get its massive orbital rocket back to flight by the end of the year. New Glenns launch manifest remains filled, and several of its most important upcoming missions will launch Blue Origins Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the Moon for NASAs Moon Base program. Furthermore, Blue Origin hopes to have its crewed Blue Moon
Mark 2 lander also ready for NASAs Artemis III mission in 2027.

Blue Origin is keeping its eyes on targets beyond the Earth-Moon system as well, with the company challenging competitors like Rocket Lab for the design of NASAs Mars Telecommunications Orbiter. The orbiter will establish a high-speed communications relay network at Mars, which NASA will use for future missions to the red planet.



NASAs Moon Base plans and Blue Moon MK1

On May 26, NASA announced that Blue Origins Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lunar lander, Endurance , would serve as the lander for the agencys first Moon Base mission. Originally part of the agencys Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, Endurance recently completed environmental testing in Thermal Vacuum Chamber A, with a potential launch before the end of 2026, assuming Blue Origin can get New Glenn back to flight quickly. Rendering of Blue Moon MK1 on the surface of the Moon. (Credit: Blue Origin)

The mission will initiate Phase One of NASAs plan to establish a habitable lunar base by 2029. Phase One missions will also include Lunar Terrain Vehicles. NASA awarded Blue Origin $188 million to deliver a lunar rover by 2028 using a Blue Moon MK1 lander, which stands 8.05 m tall, can carry 3,000 kg of cargo to any lunar location, and is powered by a single BE-7 engine.
Its launch mass is 21,350 kg, benefiting from New Glenns high payload
capacity and seven-meter fairing.

On the Moon Base-1 mission, Endurance will carry two scientific payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge at the lunar south pole. One, the Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS), will capture images of the BE-7 engine plumes interacting with the Moons surface, improving our understanding of spacecraft degradation during lunar landings and informing future lander designs. Another payload is the Lunar Retroreflective Array, which uses laser reflections to help spacecraft pinpoint landing sites, a capability essential for future crewed lunar missions.

Endurance will also test key systems, including cryogenic propulsion, avionics, and precision landing, demonstrating the capabilities needed for a future Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2) lander to deliver crew to the surface under NASAs Artemis program. Endurance is going through a variety of tests ahead of launch in Florida. First one complete: modal testing

We used sensors to measure how our lunar lander will respond to launch conditions. The test was performed with Endurance mounted on both the New Glenn flight Launch pic.twitter.com/xndcylRXmq

Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 27, 2026



Due to the New Glenn anomaly, however, the dates for Moon Base-1 have almost certainly been pushed back. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman met with Limp and Bezos after the anomaly and reaffirmed NASAs commitment to help the Blue team recover, continue to advance their lunar lander, and get New Glenn back to launching as soon as possible.

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The agency expects to launch multiple Blue Moon landers to the Moon in the coming years, both crewed and uncrewed. As the only current heavy-lift
vehicle capable of delivering these payloads, returning New Glenn to flight quickly is vital for both Blue Origins and NASAs lunar ambitions.

Blue Moon MK2 and Artemis III

Blue Origins larger crewed Blue Moon MK2 lander will carry up to four astronauts to the Moons surface. This 16-m vehicle will use three BE-7
engines to deliver up to 30,000 kg to the lunar surface. NASA awarded Blue Origin the Sustaining Lunar Development contract in 2023. Initially, MK2 was expected to be the second crewed lunar lander for Artemis missions, following SpaceXs Starship.

However, in 2025, NASA encouraged faster development by opening the contract to other providers. This was further emphasized when the current NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced in 2026 that Artemis III would be reworked into a low-Earth orbit mission to test lander capabilities for Artemis IV. Blue Moon Mark 2 lander mock-up at Johnson Space Center (Credit:NASA)

A full-scale Blue Moon Mark II crew cabin was delivered to NASA in 2026 for astronaut training and will eventually serve as an advanced simulator with integrated systems for future missions.

Blue Origins solution for the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter

Originally scheduled for launch in 2009, NASAs Mars Telecommunications
Orbiter (MTO) has been revived by NASA with $700 million from the One Big Beautiful Bill. Since the announcement, Blue Origin and other companies, most notably Rocket Lab, have expressed interest in developing and launching MTO
to enhance Earth-Mars communications.

NASA plans to procure the orbiter through a fixed-price contract with one or more existing recipients of funding for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission design study. The MSR mission proposed dedicated Martian communication orbiters as part of its mission profiles.

Blue Origin is proposing an MTO solution based on its Blue Ring spacecraft platform, capable of providing communication and navigation services to Mars while also carrying up to 500 kg of science payloads, including 10 cubesats
or two ESCAPADE-class vehicles, and hosting onboard instruments. Why do a little science when you can do a lot of science? Our Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, based on our existing Blue Ring vehicle, meets the urgent need for communications, navigation, and relay while also flying up to 500 kg of science instruments to Mars. With this pic.twitter.com/GpH0qHglgP

Dave Limp (@davill) May 7, 2026



The spacecraft will use existing Electra Ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radios to relay data from existing surface assets like the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, aiming for reliable, high-performance links with Earth without requiring unrealistically high power or high-precision antenna pointing, Dave Limp stated in an X post in May.

Due to the companys vehicle and infrastructure loss during the New Glenn anomaly on May 28, many previously set deadlines for Blue Moon MK1, MK2, and MTO have likely changed. However, Blue Origin with help and support from NASA and other commercial partners is focused on rebuilding and returning to flight as soon as possible, with Bezos, Limp, and Isaacman all suggesting a return to flight by the end of the year.

(Lead image: Blue Moon MK1 Endurance undergoing testing at NASAs Johnson Space Center. Credit: Blue Origin)



The post After New Glenn anomaly, Blue Origin keeps focus on upcoming Blue Moon and Mars missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/06/blue-moon-mto-update/


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