Ars Techninca says Blue Origin’s modified Mark 1 lander emerges as NASA’s best chance to beat China to the Moon
WASHINGTON - For the last month, NASA's interim administrator, Sean Duffy, has been giving interviews and speeches around the world, offering a singular message: "We are going to beat the Chinese to the Moon."
This is certainly what the president who appointed Duffy to the NASA post wants to hear. Unfortunately, there is a very good chance that Duffy's sentiment is false. Privately, many people within the space industry, and even at NASA, acknowledge that the US space agency appears to be holding a losing hand. Recently, some influential voices, such as former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, have spoken out, Eric Berger writes for Ars Technica. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
3 October - Ars Technica’s Eric Berger argues that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) current lunar strategy, centered on SpaceX’s Starship, is unlikely to succeed in the agency's goal of beating China to the Moon. While NASA’s Artemis Program has suffered from decades of delays due to politics, cost overruns, and reliance on the Space Launch System, Starship itself faces daunting technical hurdles. These include orbital refueling, cryogenic storage, and the complexity of up to dozens of tanker launches - making a 2028 crewed landing appear overly optimistic.
Against this backdrop, Berger highlights a credible alternative: Blue Origin’s Mark 1 lander. Initially designed as a cargo vehicle, the Mark 1 is nearing vacuum chamber testing, with a pathfinder mission planned for 2026 and a confirmed VIPER rover delivery scheduled for 2027. This production pipeline gives Blue Origin momentum at a critical moment.
The breakthrough, Berger reports, is that Blue Origin has begun preliminary work on a modified Mark 1 capable of carrying astronauts. By leveraging design work from its future Mark 2 human lander, the company envisions an approach where multiple Mark 1s deliver crew to the lunar surface and return them to orbit to rendezvous with Orion. Crucially, this would not require in-space refueling, significantly reducing mission complexity and risk.
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Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
