Nasa restarts lunar module races

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Jeff Bezos at a presentation of his space company Blue Origin's lunar module plans in 2019

PHOTO: CLODAGH KILCOYNE / REUTERS

After a complaint from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the US space agency Nasa has reopened the race for the first commercial moon landing device.

Bezos' space company Blue Origin was unable to prevail against billionaire Elon Musk's competitor SpaceX in a NASA lunar lander tender.

With an official complaint, however, Blue Origin and the company Dynetics, which was also defeated, were initially unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, Nasa announced on Wednesday that products that compete with the SpaceX moon lander were still being sought.

"Competition is critical to our success on the surface of the moon and beyond," NASA CEO Bill Nelson said at a news conference.

The billionaires are fighting hard

SpaceX is still there, but is asked to expand its proposal.

In addition, other American companies would be asked for proposals for a second moon lander.

Bezos had previously tried to change NASA's mind with an offer of money.

The Amazon founder wrote in an open letter that Blue Origin would bear the costs of up to two billion dollars for the development and production of the moon lander if the company were allowed to compete again against competitor SpaceX.

At first, Nasa had not responded, at least not publicly.

The order is part of the so-called Artemis program.

The mission, planned for 2025 at the earliest, is to take four astronauts into lunar orbit in the Orion spacecraft, where two of them will transfer to a lander for the final approach to the moon.

A kind of space station is also to be created on the moon and used as the basis for a manned flight to Mars – but that will only happen in the distant future.

Last week, NASA deployed the rocket system for Artemis – consisting of the “Space Launch System” rocket and the “Orion” capsule – for the first time for test purposes at the Cape Canaveral spaceport.

However, before the system is to be tested unmanned for the first time in May at the earliest, there are still numerous tests to be carried out.

beb/dpa