In the race to the moon, the competition between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is heating up. While SpaceX may seem to have a significant advantage with its upcoming test flights of Starship, Blue Origin is not far behind with its innovative approach.
SpaceX is gearing up for the third test flight of Starship, with plans to use a variation of the spacecraft to take NASA astronauts to the moon by September 2026. On the other hand, Blue Origin has yet to launch anything into orbit, but has ambitious plans to send a smaller cargo lander to the moon by the end of next year.
John Couluris, senior vice president of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, recently revealed in an interview on “60 Minutes” that the company is aiming to land its Blue Moon Mark 1 lander on the moon within the next 12 to 16 months. This smaller lander will serve as a test for the technologies that will be used in the larger Mark 2 lander, which will eventually carry astronauts to the moon’s surface.
One key advantage for Blue Origin is the smaller size of its lander, which means it can fit inside one of the company’s New Glenn rockets. This eliminates the need for refueling before leaving Earth’s orbit, a challenge that SpaceX’s Starship will have to overcome.
While SpaceX may have a head start in the race to the moon, Blue Origin’s innovative approach and efficient design could give them the edge in reaching the lunar surface first. With both companies pushing the boundaries of space exploration, the competition between Musk and Bezos is sure to be one to watch in the coming years.
