The number of space missions that have been done in recent years has increased a lot with the emergence of different space companies such as SpaceX or Blue Origin. Elon Musk’s company for example has deployed satellites that can be seen from Earth, while Bezos made history almost a month ago when he flew into space in his New Shepard spacecraft. However, Blue Origin’s next mission will not be space travel, but will serve to carry scientific and research payloads to aid future missions to the Moon.
It will be the seventeenth time the New Shepard rocket has been used, as it is a reusable ship. The flight will take place on August 25.
Improving the future of lunar missions
This mission is called NS-17 and will carry NASA Moon landing technologies that are being tested in order to reduce risks and increase confidence for future missions on the Moon.
#NewShepard NS-17 is targeting liftoff on Aug 25. This operational payload mission will fly 20 payloads, including an @upliftaerospace installation by artist @AmoakoBoafo and reflight of @NASA lunar landing technology on the booster. More on the manifest: https://t.co/YRbMGhsci6 pic.twitter.com/xUITvNk416
– Blue Origin (@blueorigin) August 18, 2021
The entire payload flew last October on a test flight and is mounted on the outside of the booster rocket. According to the company, the first flight served to report improvements in technology to know the location and speed of a spacecraft as it approaches the lunar surface.
The NS-17 will carry 20 commercial payloads inside the crew capsule, of which 11 are supported by NASA.
Why this interest in the Moon?
Jeff Bezos’s company is now more interested in doing missions to the Moon because of the conflict that recently happened between this company, Elon Musk’s and NASA.
Blue Origin sued NASA after it awarded SpaceX nearly $ 3 billion to build what would be the first lunar lander to fly astronauts to the Moon since the Apollo missions did so many years ago.
In fact, the rocket will carry another uncommon payload on its exterior: a series of portraits by an artist from Ghana that are painted on the top of the crew capsule on the main ramp decks.
What these paintings illustrate are the artist, his mother and the mother of a friend and the purpose of these paintings is to inspire new ideas and generate dialogue by making space accessible and connected to the experience of human beings.
Is this some kind of hint to NASA?