Blue Moon Mk.1

Blue Moon Mk.1 [Blue Origin]

Blue Moon Mk.1 is a planned uncrewed large lunar lander designed by Blue Origin to land a large payload on the surface of the moon.

Blue Origin announced Blue Moon, its large lunar lander capable of delivering multiple metric tons of payload to the lunar surface based on configuration and mission. The cargo variant can carry 3.6 tons to the surface.

The Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder is a roughly cylindrical spacecraft with a height of 8.05 m and a primary outer diameter of 3.08 m. It has a wet mass of less than 21,350 kg, attitude control in all three axes, and is powered by a mix of solar panels and fuel cells. The Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder also features an inertial measuring unit (IMU), a star tracker, and hot and cold gas thrusters.

The Blue Moon lander is to be powered by the BE-7 engine, a new addition to Blue Origin’s family of engines. The BE-7’s 40 kN thrust is designed for large lunar payload transport. The engine’s propellants are a highly-efficient combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The BE-7 will have its first hotfire in summer 2019. The engine will also be available for sale to other companies for use in in-space and lander applications.

A future variant of the lander that can stretch to be capable of carrying a 6.5 ton, human-rated ascent stage and is claimed to be available to put Americans on the Moon by 2024 as announced by the US government in 2019.

The Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder will initially launch into low-Earth orbit (LEO). Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder will enter and remain in that orbit for around 3-4 orbits before completing an apogee raise maneuver (ARM) to an Earth elliptical orbit (EEO). Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder will then maintain this orbit for one full orbit before executing a translunar insertion (TLI) burn. The Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder will take 5-7 days to reach the moon, after which it will burn into lunar orbit.