By Bethany Lee | 2025-09-04

Private aerospace company Blue Origin is planning to send the first of its Blue Moon landers, Mark 1 (MK1), to the lunar surface in October as part of US efforts to establish the moon as a hub for space missions in the coming decades.

The single-launch, uncrewed lunar cargo lander will head for the moon's south pole in a demonstration mission called Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder.

Future versions of MK1 are expected to deliver the equipment and infrastructure needed for "lunar permanence," laying the foundation for the moon to transition from a barren desert to the home base for space exploration.

What makes the moon a good hub for space exploration?

According to Blue Origin’s senior vice president of lunar permanence John Couluris, it takes a lot less energy to get into the solar system from the moon than it does from the Earth.

Sending a kilogram of mass into the solar system from Earth’s surface takes 24 times as much energy as it would starting from the moon, he said during the May meeting of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium.

Blue Origin is not the only spaceflight organization rushing to establish a hub on the moon.

SpaceX’s reusable Starship rocket, which can carry about 100 metric tons of payload and refuel in orbit, is expected to become a major player in bringing the necessary infrastructure to the moon at a lower cost.

And NASA has declared its intent to send astronauts back to the moon in the next few years via the Artemis missions.

Crewed lunar lander

The other lunar lander in Blue Origin's Blue Moon family is the crewed Mark 2 (MK2), which is intended to hold four astronauts for up to 30 days in a fully reusable configuration.

Blue Origin is developing the MK2 lunar lander for the Artemis V program under NASA's Sustaining Lunar Development contract, with help from Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics.

Both MK1 and MK2 are powered with the BE-7 engine, which boasts 10,000 pounds of thrust meant for large lunar payloads.

Each will be equipped with Blue Origin’s zero-boiloff mitigation system, designed to keep the crafts in space for long periods of time without running out of fuel.

If all goes well with the Pathfinder mission, Blue Origin and other launch providers can begin laying the groundwork for an industrial base on the moon.

"NASA’s Artemis program will be the next major milestone in the history of human space flight, and we’re honored to be a part of it," Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said in 2020, when the human landing system contract was awarded.

The Blue Origin National Team's work on the Artemis Human Landing System contract "will enable Americans to return to the lunar surface and inspire another generation," he said.

"It’s time to go back to the Moon, this time to stay."