Nasa announces the three companies to develop new lunar landing craft for astronauts
An artist’s impression of the Blue Origin Integrated Lander Vehicle on the Moon
Photo by Nasa
Dynetics’ HLS will sit low on the lunar surface
Photo by Nasa
SpaceX’s Starship shown on the Moon’s surface.
Photo by Nasa
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), America’s space agency, announced at the end of April the three companies that it has chosen to design and develop human landing systems (HLS) for its Artemis progammme. Artemis is the successor to the renowned Apollo programme, which landed six crewed missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17) on the Moon during the period 1969 to 1972, and is intended to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024. (In Greek mythology, Artemis was the sister of Apollo.)
The three companies are, in alphabetical order, Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX. The combined value of the three contracts is $967-million and the contractual base period is ten months.
“With these contract awards, America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface,” enthused Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstein. “This is the first time since the Apollo era that Nasa has direct funding for a human landing system, and now we have companies on contract to do the work for the Artemis programme.”
The HLS will carry the astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon, and back again. It is the last major element of the programme to be contracted, following the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy launch rocket (the most powerful rocket ever developed for Nasa).
“We are on our way,” affirmed Washington-based Nasa Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Douglas Loverro. “With these awards we begin an exciting partnership with the best of industry to accomplish the nation’s goals. We have much work ahead, especially over these next critical ten months. I have high confidence that working with these teammates, we will succeed.”
The three companies are offering very different designs based on very different philosophies. Blue Origin’s Integrated Lander Vehicle is composed of three stages: a descent stage, an ascent stage (including crew cabin) and a crew transfer stage (for docking with the planned Gateway lunar orbiting space station or directly with an Orion spacecraft). Astronauts would use a ladder to reach the Moon’s surface. Dynetics' HLS has a single descent/ascent vehicle, but with “multiple modular propellant vehicles prepositioned to fuel the engines at different points of the mission,” in Nasa’s words. Sitting low on the surface, astronauts would need only a short step ladder to reach the surface. SpaceX’s Starship is intended to be fully reusable. Starship will be produced in a number of versions, including tanker vehicles and propellant storage vehicles, which would allow the crewed vehicles to refuel. On the Moon, a Starship would be so tall that astronauts would have to use a lift to reach the surface.
“I am confident in Nasa’s partnership with these companies to help achieve the Artemis mission and develop the human landing system returning us to the Moon,” highlighted Nasa Marshall Space Flight Centre-based HLS programme manager Lisa Watson-Morgan. “We have a history or proven lunar technical expertise and capabilities at Marshall and across Nasa that will pave the way for our efforts to quickly and safely land humans on the Moon in 2024.”
Nasa personnel will be attached to each of the three contracted companies. These assigned personnel will provide requested direct ‘in-line’ expertise to the companies, in areas such as analysis, design support and testing. The HLS programme will also involve advanced development and risk reduction activities.
Nasa does not plan to select a sole winner. The intent, after the conclusion of a number of crewed demonstration missions, is to be able to use more than one of these designs on a commercial contract basis to provide lunar descent and ascent services to the space agency. Of course, only one design can to be selected for the prestigious first mission.
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