Blue Origin, SpaceX to Build Large Cargo Lunar Landing Systems for Artemis Project

NASA is working with two contractors to develop a space vehicle capable of delivering large cargo to the moon.

In a Jan. 9 announcement, the U.S. space agency announced that it exercised an option under the Human Landing System contract awarded to Blue Origin and SpaceX. The modification covers the design and development of crewed lunar landers capable of carrying large cargo to the lunar surface.

While there are still no planned payloads, the cargo landers are expected to be part of the Artemis 7 mission in the early 2030s, SpaceNews reported.

Kathryn Hambleton, spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement to SpaceNews that the large cargo lunar landers are expected to have similar characteristics with the HLS being developed but are capable of delivering 12 to 15 metric tons of cargo.

Blue Origin started working on the HLS project after it received a $3.4 billion NASA contract in May 2023. The contract involves building a human landing system for Artemis V, a mission that will test exploration capabilities and the capability to set up support systems for recurring missions.