Astrobotic To Provide Blue Moon Lander Cargo Systems

PITTSBURGH, PA - Astrobotic to provide cargo systems as part of the Blue Origin National Team's, who won NASA's Sustainable Human Landing System Contract for the Artemis program last week. 

The contract entails the development and provision of human and large cargo lunar landing services, crucially supporting America's ambitious plan to return to crewed exploration of the Moon.

Astrobotic's role within the National Team will focus on the cargo accommodation system, working in tandem with Blue Origin's lunar lander.

This collaboration aims to ensure the safe landing and operation of mission-critical, sizable cargo such as astronaut habitats or pressurized rovers. Additionally, Astrobotic will contribute to the development of lunar landing sensors, further enhancing the precision and safety of lunar landings.

“Astrobotic is thrilled to continue leveraging our 16 years of lunar-centric capabilities with Blue Origin’s National Team. This is truly a powerhouse group dedicated to America’s vision of bringing humans back to the Moon. Our goal of making space accessible to the world started with robotic lunar missions across our four lander and rover missions, and now extends to astronauts. Astrobotic is ready to do its part to further human presence on the lunar surface,” - John Thornton, Astrobotic CEO. 

The contract for developing a sustainable human landing system for the Artemis V Moon mission was awarded to a joined bid, lead by Blue Origin, in partnership with Astrobotic, Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, and Blue Origin's Honeybee Robotics subsidiary.

This collaborative effort aims to facilitate the transportation of astronauts to and from the lunar orbit Gateway, the surface of the Moon, and the lunar space station, as part of NASA's comprehensive return to the Moon initiative.

The Artemis program encompasses scientific research, exploration, and inspiration, with the ultimate goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the lunar surface.