Three radically different designs. NASA announced Thursday that it has signed a $ 1 billion contract with three companies, including Jeff Bezos 'Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX, to develop moon landers, with the United States' stated aim of sending back a human on the Moon in 2024.
SpaceX by Elon Musk (boss of Tesla), Blue Origin by Jeff Bezos (boss of Amazon and the richest man in the world) and Dynetics, another American aerospace company, will therefore share $ 967 million to each develop their lander until February 2021, date on which the American space agency will choose one of the models presented.
The Dynetics prototype is the closest to the Apollo lunar module, with a cabin close to the ground. That of Blue Origin, on three floors, would leave the base on the Moon on the return. SpaceX, on the other hand, would use a reusable rocket to go back and forth. The three companies and their partners must conduct demonstration flights before NASA chooses the winner.
No delay due to coronavirus
"America is at the final stages of its plan to send astronauts to the Moon in 2024, when we will see the incredible moment when the first woman will set foot on the moon," said Jim Bridenstine, administrator of Nasa. "It is the first time since the days of the Apollo missions that NASA has funded a crewed lunar lander system. We now have companies under contract to work for the Artémis program, ”he added.
This crewed lander system is at the heart of the Artemis mission, the American return to the moon program. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, which halted construction and testing of the Artemis rocket and spacecraft, Jim Bridenstine said he wanted to see the mission go ahead. “We have to give people hope. We have to give them something that allows them to dream and will inspire not only our nation, but the whole world. ”
- Nasa
- Moon
- Science