The Blue Origin lunar lander, Mark I, will be preparing for a demo launch later this year. This launch will use a prototype of this lander on an uncrewed mission to the Moon’s South Pole.

The Blue Origin Lunar Lander Demo Flight

The official announcement was made by John Couluris, the senior vice president of the Lunar Permanence team.

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This launch will come as a collaboration between NASA, as the Blue Origin‘s Human Landing System (HLS) was developed in partnership with the space administration. It aims to successfully return humans to the Moon for the coming Artemis V mission.

While the Artemis V mission is still years away from its launch, this demo mission will give Blue Origin an idea of how its lander performs. Following the demo launch, any changes can then be made on the actual lander ahead of the coming Artemis V mission.

Blue Origin calls this lunar lander the Mark I, and it is an autonomous space vessel that can launch without human intervention. The vehicle can carry cargo weighing over 3.9 tons to any location on the Moon’s surface.

Propelling it from low-Earth orbit to the Moon is a single liquid-oxygen and liquid-hydrogen-fuelled BE-7. This lunar lander will rely on the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket to launch it into space for this demo mission.

The demo mission will not carry humans to the Moon’s South Pole, but some NASA and commercial payloads. For now, the BE-7 engine that will power the Mark I space vessel is still under construction and is scheduled to ship out in six weeks.

Details On The Blue Origin Human Launch System (HLS)

During the opening day event of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium conference, some details about the Blue Origin Human Launch System (HLS) were shared. These details were shared by John Couluris, the senior vice president of the Lunar Permanence team mentioned earlier.

This Human Launch System consists of the New Glenn rocket and the Mark I space vessel. The New Glenn rocket will launch the system into low-Earth orbit and refuel the Mark I space vessel.

From low-Earth orbit, Mark I will then make its way to the Moon. This Human Launch System will not only be used for this coming demo mission.

The system can also be put to use on other space missions, as Couluris says that it “opens up the Solar System.” Before the end of this year, we will get to see this system in full action for the coming demo lunar lander mission.