Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Reveals New Space Vehicle For Lunar And Martian Missions

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN founder Jeff Bezos' space exploration company Blue Origin has unveiled a new vehicle that will enable it to help humans reach the Moon as well as Mars.

What Happened: The newly unveiled "Transporter" vehicle can be propelled into low Earth orbit aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, Space.com reported on Wednesday.

The vehicle can be used to reach the orbit of the Moon, with a lugging capacity of 110 tons, as well as 33 tons in Mars mode, the report suggests. The company is also reportedly working on a series of Landers called Mark 1, as well as a Mark 2, capable of carrying up to 4 astronauts to the lunar surface.

The company's Senior Vice President of Lunar Permanence, John Colouris, says Blue Origin is focused on developing the landers to become "hardware rich," the report says.

Colouris also sees the Moon as a hub that could potentially open up the solar system for humanity, while CEO Dave Limp believes reaching the Moon is a key step towards Mars. "If we’re going to get to Mars, the path to that is getting back to the moon, and in a permanent way," Limp said in a statement cited in the report.

However, challenges like storing enough Hydrogen and Oxygen, which power the engines, for "appreciable lengths" lie ahead for the company. Blue Origin also aims to put two crews on the lunar surface, the report added.

Why It Matters: The news comes in as the billionaire space race has been gathering steam, with Elon Musk's SpaceX currently maintaining its position as a major player in the sector.

SpaceX was recently approved by the FAA to not only scale up launches from its Texas launch site but also conduct test launches for its Starship rocket, a key component of Musk's Mars ambitions. However, the latest test resulted in failure.

Musk also predicted that SpaceX's commercial revenue will exceed NASA's budget next year. Worth noting that the space agency's budget was cut to over $18.8 billion by the Trump administration.

Blue Origin, on the other hand, is playing catch-up to SpaceX but has shown promise after the company led an all-women flight to space featuring pop star Katy Perry and Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sanchez. Blue Origin was also a part of a host of companies receiving federal contracts totalling over $13.5 billion.

Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman, who originally was the president's pick to lead NASA, due to his prior political associations, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

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