Nasa has selected Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin to conduct the first of three uncrewed lunar missions planned for 2026, marking the start of construction for a $20bn moon base. The announcement was made by Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman at a press conference in Washington DC, outlining the agency's detailed timeline for establishing a permanent lunar presence.
The three missions this year will be followed by over a dozen more in subsequent years to test systems and equipment. Isaacman credited the successful Artemis II mission last month, which sent four astronauts around the moon for the first time since 1972, as a catalyst for advancing the moon base plan. 'People are looking up again, believing in big things again,' he said.
Blue Origin has been awarded $230.4m to support each of its first two missions, though it will largely fund the operations itself. The first mission, as early as autumn, will use Blue Origin's Endurance cargo lander to deliver scientific payloads to the Shackleton de Gerlache Ridge area of the moon's south pole. Isaacman described it as 'the first privately funded lunar lander mission in history'.
The selection of Blue Origin over SpaceX comes despite a recent setback when a payload from the third flight of its New Glenn rocket ended up in the wrong orbit. However, the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the company to return to flight last week. Both companies are competing to provide crew landers for future Artemis missions, including the planned 2028 human return.
Nasa also announced contracts with Lunar Outpost and Firefly Aerospace, the latter becoming the first private operator to make a successful moon touchdown last year. The agency's moonbase website, launched on Wednesday, sets a timeframe of 2029-2032 for establishing an operating base, with a semi-permanent presence expected by 2032 or later.
The moon base project is part of Donald Trump's national space policy, which includes accelerating the Artemis program to achieve a human moon landing ahead of China. Nasa says partnerships with private operators will reduce taxpayer costs and create a thriving space economy.
