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2h ago

NASA Picks Blue Origin for Conditional VIPER Moon Delivery in 2027

NASA ties the delivery decision to a post-review of Blue Origin’s first Blue Moon MK1 mission.

Artist’s concept of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander with NASA’s VIPER rover on the Moon.

Overview

  • NASA awarded Blue Origin a CLPS task order worth up to $190 million under CS-7 to design VIPER accommodations and demonstrate off-loading, with an option to deliver and deploy the rover on a second Blue Moon MK1 lander in late 2027.
  • Exercising the delivery option will follow NASA’s review of the completed base task and the outcome of Blue Origin’s first MK1 flight, which is scheduled to launch later this year with NASA instruments.
  • Blue Origin will provide the full landing mission architecture, including payload integration, mission planning, communications support, and post-landing deployment, while NASA will operate the rover and lead the science.
  • VIPER will target permanently shadowed regions near the lunar south pole during a roughly 100-day mission using a 1-meter drill and three instruments to map ice and other volatiles to inform Artemis and future Mars exploration.
  • The decision revives a mission NASA canceled in 2024 after cost and schedule growth, shifting to a commercially enabled approach within CLPS as recent provider outcomes have varied across Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Firefly Aerospace.