Blue Origin tests Blue Moon lander

Blue Origin is testing its Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander in Florida for an uncrewed mission to the moon’s south pole in 2026. (usatoday.com) (blueorigin.com) The vehicle is being readied at Blue Origin’s Merritt Island facility near Kennedy Space Center and is expected to launch on the company’s New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (palmbeachpost.com) (blueorigin.com) Blue Origin said the lander, nicknamed Endurance, recently went through modal testing, using sensors to measure how the spacecraft would respond to launch conditions. (yahoo.com) (usatoday.com) A lunar lander is the spacecraft that makes the last part of the trip, slowing down from orbit and touching down on the moon. Blue Moon Mark 1 is Blue Origin’s cargo version, designed to stay on the surface after landing. (blueorigin.com 1) (blueorigin.com 2) Blue Origin says Mark 1 can deliver up to three metric tons anywhere on the lunar surface using New Glenn’s 7-meter payload fairing. The first pathfinder mission is meant to prove the BE-7 engine, cryogenic fluid systems, avionics, communications, and landing accuracy within 100 meters. (blueorigin.com) NASA has booked Blue Moon Mark 1 for a Commercial Lunar Payload Services delivery to the lunar south pole, folding the mission into the wider Artemis campaign. (nasa.gov) (blueorigin.com) The timing matters for Blue Origin because New Glenn is now flying. The company says New Glenn’s third mission lifted off on April 19, 2026, after the rocket’s first flight in January 2025 and second in November 2025. (blueorigin.com 1) (blueorigin.com 2) Blue Origin is also developing a larger Blue Moon Mark 2 crewed lander for NASA’s human lunar landing program. The Mark 1 cargo mission is the nearer-term test of the engine, propellant handling, and landing systems that future moon missions will rely on. (blueorigin.com 1) (blueorigin.com 2) If the 2026 pathfinder flight launches on schedule, Blue Origin will move from factory and test-stand work to an actual south-pole landing attempt. That would put Endurance and New Glenn together on the company’s first lunar shot from Florida. (usatoday.com) (blueorigin.com)